The Dew of Time
by lovelytunes
Summary: After borrowing a book on time travel from Monsieur, Belle was fully absorbed in reading it until it surprisingly took her speeding across the centuries and caused her to wake up in a present-day world...and married to the Beast Prince of her dreams...How would she come to grasp with such drastic transformation and mysterious happening?
1. Chapter 1

18th century France

Belle has just returned from her routine outdoor reading during most part of the day after visiting her favourite(and the only one) bookshop library in the little provincial town where she lived with her father, Maurice. Well, to say it was routine may be understating the fact that this particular day was more unique. She came home hours later than usual after spending much time sitting by the fountain in the middle of the town fully immersed and mesmerised by a book that was totally one of a kind. It was no romance novel but a captivating story about 'time travel'...

"So, Belle...Did what you mention a so-called 'nasty' Gaston bother your reading this time?" Maurice was half paying attention to his latest project of an axe-chopping invention while not forgetting to caringly ask his precious daughter.

Belle was still gripping firmly onto her book, not wanting the least to take her eyes off it as she quietly shook her head from behind those opened pages.

"Hmmm...now where has that naughty old screw gone to?!" Maurice was distracted once again as usual, though he was convinced that a silent answer from his good bookworm child was a positive affirmation of his everyday never-missed question.

Unable to wander off course from her newfound treasure of theories and puzzling statements, Belle simply walked right on past Maurice and into her own room. Despite the darkness of the late evening inside and Belle not concerned at all to light the oil lamp, she leapt right onto her bed as if the invisible yet awesome light of words from the literature world was more than enough to offer her focussed eyes a powerful source of energy.

She remained affixed, bodily sitting up and lying on her comfortable bed as well as attentionally on the new book before her face. Seconds, minutes and hours, the clock ticked by, seemingly slowly at first and then rapidly...until the inescapable spell of slumber befell the young engrossed maiden...Her eyes, mind, and soul gradually succumbed to it...It was just a few pages more before the end of the book would be reached...Night finally welcomed into the common unexcited town, enchanting rainbows of visible light shone forth like sparkling stars from the book itself as the sheets of content turned and flipped themselves agitatingly and uncontrollably, until a blinding glow rose from them and hovered over the completely unaware sleeping beauty...The radiant pulsating brilliance came to rest on her, like a twist of destiny and matter...


	2. Chapter 2

Year 2015

Streams of fresh late summer sunshine filtered through translucent lacy satin curtains over vanilla white french bedroom windows to cast tender brightness on king-size pale cotton covers and the occupants resting peacefully underneath them. The rays soothed and re-energised one's fair skin and easily reset the body's circadian rhythm to greet yet again the day's graceful beginning. With a scented room fully lit up by nature's free provision of radiance, each new day was always faithfully welcoming, if not moreso than the one before...

He gently tossed and stirred as his eyes opened to the view of the swaying curtains moved by the weightless morning breeze right before their bed. A perfect blend of mild heat and weak coolness penetrated through the air, exciting his touch senses and reviving his awakened consciousness. He effortlessly turned on his side to focus an anticipating gaze on the slender figure within the least amount of an inch to his right...

She was still fast asleep, as he observed her calm undisturbed features and form, so restful and tranquil to behold like a newborn angel whom God lovingly and promisingly presented to his care straight down from heaven. He could watch for all eternity just to gaze silently at her pair of closed alluring eyes and hear her breathing so peacefully. At this second, in the midst of timelessness in his heart, he struggled much to resist himself from leaning over and caressing her velvet soft temples and rose-pink cheeks...They were so defenceless against his desire for more than a soulful closeness with her...He wondered how he would describe such a feeling to her, should she be aware of him at this moment...Perhaps, her deepest dreams would help this fervent young man tell her...with the help of heaven of course...His futile self-control seemed to be getting increasingly useless with each passing time...He broke through it all at last and planted a strong kiss on her endearing forehead...

Belle shifted a little...She has never lain on something so comfortably soft and firm ever before. Although she fought against all temptations to squint her eyes open, she could not hold the curiosity of sensing an undeniably warm but cautious intruder into her time-transcending slumber...It was moving by her side and somewhat sensitive to her state of heavy ignorance...What on earth was it after all?


	3. Chapter 3

With one powerful shove of fierce self-defence, Belle repelled his advances and leapt out of bed in utter shock. The young man was nearly thrown off the edge of their bed in a daze of confusion at Belle's hysterical reaction.

She gasped hard and squinted her weary eyes to scan blankly from one end of the room to another that appeared completely foreign like an alien planet to her. Worse still, when she looked at her own physical appearance and attire, she was frightened a thousand times over.

"Oh my...oh my...What on earth is happening...? Me...and this place..." With her voice quivering, fear arose and overwhelmed her as her eyes darted and glanced from one angle to another that caused her to tremble all over.

The man with whom she has unknowingly shared the bed was quite taken aback by her unusual display of distress and emotional instability as he picked himself up from the bed and worriedly walked over to her side.

"Wh-what's going on? What's with me and all these? Why can't I think?!" Belle was still horrified by every single detail of the environment and herself which her eyes could set on. Her rate of breathing increased rapidly by the minute, yet the sight of the only other living soul in the room seemed to escape her intense consciousness. He drew near slowly but surely, wondering without answers of the sudden terror that befell her so unexpectedly and out of the blue...

"Belle...It's me...I'm here...Everything's okay...Belle?" He approached her cautiously in order not to increase the level of internal turmoil she was currently experiencing.

She was still overly troubled, "I don't know...what's this kind of clothes that I am wearing? Where's here? What's now? I never know of all these things..." Her unbelieving eyes began to rain streams of tears uncontrollably.

"Belle, this is home...Our home...You have me now, don't be afraid," he lunged forward and hugged her much tightly and strongly, as he always tended to.

Belle found no strength and thoughts to resist him, being already in a traumatised state. Instead, she gripped hard on his arms and shoulder, grateful for a rescue at a moment of loss and faintheartedness. His kisses on her teary eyes warmed her cold-sweat body, supplying a steady calming effect to soothe and fulfill her need. Her petite frame fitting so snugly into his passionate embrace, he felt he could hold onto her like this forever and never ever having to let go...


	4. Chapter 4

"This is a closet? You slide the doors to open it?" Belle's pair of swollen eyes widened and she gasped warily as he showed her all the clothes she has inside.

Despite all the escalating worries and doubt he was holding within, Athen maintained a strong demeanour and strived his best to attend to her every single sudden fear, with the exception that his vulnerable concerned gaze towards her was a definite open betrayal.

(A/N:I know that technically, Beast should be called Adam but since the original animation did not specifically name him that way and IMO it is a too common name, I decided to pick 'Athen'. Apologies and hope that I have not caused offence for anyone).

He softly affirmed, taking great care not to induce any further insecurity in her. It has been a tough ordeal for her a while back and he has not a single clue of what brought about so much fright for his precious love after a seemingly calm and blissful night together. Now that he has soothed and assured her, the torture of grueling emotions subsided a tad bit, though it was totally not easy for him to achieve, but at least she could face things without breaking down again.

He tried to reach out to her shaky shoulder, but her hypervigilance made her cringed and winced at his approach. Athen was certainly burdened with loads more confusion and mixed apprehension this time.

She could not recognise any item of belonging and glanced down at her loose nightclothes and bizarre sweatpants. Those wild colours and fancy hems in the closet just made her so dizzy that the whole place felt like spinning and churning underneath her weak feet.

She clutched her head forcefully and wailed, "No...no...Not this at all...I'm losing my world, what on earth is happening! I got to leave and find my belongings! I can't stand this! Where's my Belle?!"

She groped onto the sliding doors for unsteady support, then dashed out of the room through what she could still perceive to be a familiar wooden door with a spherical knob for her hand to turn. In dire search for an escape, Athen nearly could not keep up with her pace as Belle struggled blindly and furiously to reach the doorway.

"Belle, wait! Do hold on to something!" He cried out to her deafened ears and stubborn heart.

It was still a completely 21st century foreign home to her and worsened by her reckless run, Belle missed sharp sight of the stairs just centimetres from the door of their room, thereby slipping off the steps. Having trailed fast right behind, Athen was precise in catching her, shielding the defiant lady from the hit, yet that was all about the best he could manage. Less than a second later, he too fell and tumbled down the stairs along with his girl while hugging and cushioning her tight from every possible blow and hurt...Descending like a rolling avalanche for some full harsh seconds, it was as though Belle was finally able to pull herself together and reawakened from her time-travelling dream through Athen's selfless rescue for his damsel in utter distress. When it was all over and they both landed like a rolled sushi on the ground floor, Belle could not explain reasonably why she felt so safe and sheltered within his body and glued against his thumping and panting chest...


	5. Chapter 5

Having observed intently at how he applied the bandages from the first-aid kit onto his cuts and bruises, she took the initiative to pick up one of them, which she perceived to be unnecessarily sticky and queer-shaped, and meticulously peeled it apart. She paused attentively as its edge adhered nastily to her finger tip, creasing her nose due to the repulsive medicinal odour as she studied the thin piece of item again while it dangled from hand.

He was quick to notice her hesitant reaction having seated beside the puzzled girl on their living room couch. Though concerned, he empathically spoke up again that he would help himself to the piece of bandage instead of troubling her.

Yet, Belle gasped and stubbornly insisted that she should be doing an overly simple task for him and deemed that she was to be held responsible for all the mess and hurts caused to him. Athen could find no reason to argue with her but humbly committed to her self-assigned obligation with meek understanding. Belle gave a light nod as a sign of grateful acceptance.

She shifted closer in her position towards him. At such proximity, his reddened features were considerably beheld by her with greater clarity and subsequently, remorse and heartache. The sensation of emotional pain and guilt within her revived and heightened her connection with reality and the immediate environment, which has been so eerily surreal and otherworldly back then when she was first awakened from a long sleep...Now, it felt as though she could pull together and reconsolidate her senses and faculties into a coherent and optimally functioning whole. She was finally in touch with a familiar home planet and able to take in the characteristics of each stimulus to make concrete sense out of them.

As there was more one choice of equally distributed eye-catching wounds all over his once perfectly enticing face, Belle turned indecisive of whichever one to place the sandy brown bandage on. There was an leaping stir within her heart as she attempted to reason and justify her potential options. The crease in the middle of her face made its way to her eyebrows as she surveyed from one end of his sharp lower chin to his upper forehead. She became gradually drawn to the bright golden shade of his delicate fringes as well as those charmingly arched thick pair of eyebrows...

"It's okay, Belle...Just let me handle it..." His voice, crisp as the sound of rushing waters, strongly arrested her keen concentration. Her fingers jerked back instantly at the unexpected interruption, but as swifly as her response, he caught hold of her wrist before she could retreat further in her position.

Belle expressed a split-second downward glance at their laps which were less than a inch apart before raising her head to lock their intense gaze into each other's eyes. For a moment, she thought she has made the ultimate decision to attach the bandage on the part above and beside one of his soulful-looking eyes. They seemed so pure and deep, mesmerising her with their stories of yearning and bittersweetness. But was she thinking just as what they were trying to say to her? Was she reading their messages unmistakably from his heart?

He held onto her hand passionately but tenderly, afraid any moment that he would unknowingly hurt her once more. But, he could not bear to let go of her baby-soft skin. Belle was slightly wary and yet certain at the same time. She wanted to know him more, though he knew her more than she could ever know herself...She could tell there was a sure longing in his eyes, that made its way into hers and her inner heart...She was not fully aware of how it began or the history which had birthed it into existence...but she felt mysteriously safe and secure just knowing it so...

A courage without warning that overpowered her defences made her reach over to play a gentle touch on his yellowed temple. Belle took great conscious care not to induce more pain on him...Athen brought her hand nestled snugly in his dangerously closer to brush its velvet smoothness against the warmth of his lips. Their more intimate contact from this second on caused a sudden surge in Belle's chest. She did not know why and she could not understand. What did they call the meaning or the cause behind such gestures?

Before she could explain and realise with her dampened sensitivity, Athen found himself bravely moving to close the invisible air of a distance between them...Belle's light rest of her fingers on his face hastened to a loving caress as his grasp on her hand tightened like claiming a fervently-desired possession...Their heated breaths spread and mixed into each other's like inescapable flames unable to be contained...

Beep...Beep...Beep...

The cellphone sounding from a corner of the glass coffee table frightened the wits out of poor Belle. A special turning point of the day between the two dissipated like wildly released gas...

"Don't be afraid, Belle...Sorry, it's from the hospital," Athen got up and struggled to explained to her.

"...The hospital...?" Belle began to wonder aimlessly again.

He took a look at the urgent message and affirmed, "Yes, I need to get back there and perform an operation...Sorry, I promise I'll be home tonight."

Belle could never be more surprised, "An...operation...Do you operate machines like my father does inside hospitals?"

Athen turned to her, with ever greater worry written all across his handsome face, and tried his best to enlighten her, "No, Belle...As a surgeon, I do some work on people to help them recover from an illness...So sorry, honey...I can't bear to leave you now but there's no other way..."

In the next instant, he held her close and planted an ardently-sought-after kiss on her pale full lips.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my...This is so beautiful...She looks so much like me...Impossible...I couldn't believe it..." Belle gasped in awe and wonder as she gazed upon a golden-framed huge wedding portrait hung on the wall of the bedroom from which she had just fled for her about an hour ago. Since Athen has reluctantly left the two-storey home due to emergency work obligations, she has wandered cautiously and curiously all around by herself. Not knowing for what reason why parting with him caused her much insecurity and yearning, she felt so unsettling for thinking earlier that he could harm her in one way or another, having wakened up to find him leaning over her body on the same bed. Yet, when he kissed her so fervently, she strangely did not want him to end his advances on her. Throughout those moments, her heart leapt feverishly and unacquainted affections surged like electrifying warmth within her...

Before her eyes now, she saw a blissfully-smiling bride like her identical twin dressed in off-shoulder sweetheart bridal ballgown standing with a princely charming groom snugly wrapping both his arms around her slender waist. At first glance, she thought it was an odd and over-the-top mistake too good to be true. However, a time-transcending reality and all the intimate exchanges that took place on this morning of logic-defying surprises ascertained otherwise. Her world of dreams had taken her to an age that far surpassed the mundane and adventureless days of a common provincial town. Reaching with a finger to feel the smooth unblemised surface of the portrait, Belle's attention was now solely affixed on the gentleman depicted embracing his destined love. She was glad to have this coloured shadow of his gracing her sight and satisfying her blunt attention while he was away. It was bemusing and endearing to her at the same time...Have they ever met in the past world where she came from? Emotions churned like rolling waves inside her as she pondered and wondered if she was to stay forever this way in front of the picture for eternity.

"Wait...That book! I have really time-travelled!" She gasped anxiously again, keeping in mind the calculations she ingeniously worked on back in the study room to arrive at the date of the present day, thanks to her quick grasp of the mathematical content in the brilliant book.

She broke off her enticed focus and looked around the decently neat room she was in. Everything appeared to be in their rightful and proper place and yet her 18th-century village girl mindset perceived them to be in an utter disarray. She figured that before she could solve the riddle of her lightning speed journey through time, she ought to make her life more comfortable and sensible.


	7. Chapter 7

Past midnight, Athen arrived home at long last seeking expectantly for Belle who has caused him much restless concern for the whole day and evening. It was already a dark, loud clock-ticking night both outside and within the house. Looking over every area and corner on the ground floor and then up the stairs to each room, Athen felt a shower of relief upon finding Belle laying on the long couch having fallen calmly asleep inside his study. He could not afford to wake her by turning on the lights and so got down on one knee by her side to ensure his near-perfect silence did not induce any troubled stir in her unconsciousness.

She was as mesmerising to behold as ever, making his passionate streams of affection to flow each time and unwilling to stop. He stroked her deep brown fringes as lightly as possible while thinking through all that has taken place during the early morning. He has gone over some files on anterograde amnesia and psychogenic amnesia during the day's extremely brief tea break. However, Belle's puzzling behavioural responses in the absence of possible antecedents were not convincing for him to map her case to either condition. He was thankful for a miracle that the next day would be weekend, allowing him to sacrifice much time to better understand her feelings and thoughts that came all so suddenly without a tad bit of warning. Not wanting to miss caring more earnestly for her, he placed a sweet night kiss on her velvety temple and effortlessly carried his precious princess to their own bedroom at the opposite end of the hallway. It touched him to watch and feel her breathing so subtly yet deeply in his strong arms.

With great utmost care, he laid her gently on the double bed. Despite seeing her so peaceful at this moment, he could not bear to part with even the sight and presence of her, much less suppressing the heavy worry he has been holding inside. He decided not change but went straight to bed to tuck her close to his very being and drew the warm covers over them both. Her skin felt so tender but upsettingly cold under his...He did not want to let go nor release his vulnerable angel for the rest of the night...


	8. Chapter 8

Lying in each other's arms until they both awoke at the same time just after the dawn of the morning, their eyes opened to wallow in unrestraining gaze of dreamy silence. Belle lost herself to his charm that seemed to encircle her thoughts like an eternity without beginning nor end. Athen tacitly raised his fingers to a pleasurable smoothing of her silky fringes and gradually ran them along the edge of her temple and milky pink cheeks. He felt like he could go on caressing her forever and still not bear to stop. Togetherness with her was timelessness he wanted to hold on to in dire persistence. But did she still feel this same way with him? He wished amnesia was just an instant of a nightmare that they could both wake up from...

Belle felt her breaths quickening with his every touch and the throbbing of her heart heightened her self-consciousness. She wondered what was the meaning of all this...As he locked with her gaze once more, Belle courageously drew her hand from under his arm and the covers to grasp onto his trailing fair fingers over her chin.

"Morning..." He whispered with a warm tone and a pair of dazzling eyes fully attending to her every bit of curiosity.

His voice once more caused her heart to leap energetically within, entrancing her to long much more for him. She brought his hand to the centre of her chest, gripping it fervently...

Belle was not sure why everything about him felt so strong and rushing through every part of her being...With doubt and uncertainty, she asked him, "How did you know my name? Who are you?"

He would not bother the confusion and worry, only wanting to answer her every question. Whatever she wanted to know, he wanted to give his all for her until they were more than enough...

He interlocked her tender fingers with his ever so tightly and kissed them. Indulging in the spellbinding feel of her precious skin, he answered, "My name is Athen...and we've just been married for seven days now...I'm sorry for leaving you in the morning ...Can I be forgiven?"

His revelation took Belle's breath away...So she was not seeing an unrelated twin...nor some random other girl who looked exactly like herself inside the portrait with a princely groom...Could she really take this for real? Why has the enchanted time-travel book brought her this far into a 21st century fairytale?

"Why are we...married?" She uttered the words without considering them for a second thought. Once she heard herself, she intensely regretted for hurting him unintentionally.

He closed their inches' distance further and reached over to sweep her fringes with his other free hand again. Belle could sense more heavily the heat and steadiness of his breaths against hers.

"Because we belong to each other...ever since the day we first met..." He confessed with endearing passion.

Belle let herself sunk into those fathomless cerulean blues beholding her with time-transcending love. He hoped that she could understand how much she has transformed his heart, as selfless as she has always been...

He could not contain any longer but lowered himself desirously to succumb to an unbreakable intimacy of fiery kiss against her willing lips. She was passive but gradually allowed his daring craving to thoroughly brush over and moisturize her weakened mouth. He was futile to resist and yet wholly devoted to her need to belong...


	9. Chapter 9

"This is lovely...You did them so marvellously...I want them to remain on both of our bedside tables forever," Athen has always knew that everything coming from Belle's hands would be absolutely perfect and touched his heart tremendously. However, he hadn't expected that she would spend the whole of yesterday sewing and creating two pretty pieces of ruffled quilt table cloth during a time when he was utterly worried sick for her. Yet, the variety of patch cloths she has cut out of almost every piece of 'her' dresses in the closet led to another not so positive outcome.

Belle beamed with the newfound proud confidence he has assured her, "I just wanted to add more rainbow colours to this room...It's fortunate that the sewing kit is just right under your first-aid kit in the cupboard downstairs...I hope you don't mind me using so much of your threads...and clothes..."

Athen got up from looking at the bedside table to hold her hands and looked tenderly into her gray brown eyes. He was determined to make her understand that she was this home's one and only destined mistress. He firmly convinced, "Belle, everything we have is yours...There's no one thing in this home that's not meant for your use...And for you, I won't want to hold back anything...Let me continue to love you with all that I am..."

He brought a loving smile to her face, one that was secured, unreserved and deepened with the birth of a fresh trust. She raised her heels and reached up to cradle the edge of his face with her palm. "Thank you, I was too slow and unreasonably fearful...but I'll explain...I didn't mean to cause you worry...and...and...trouble, hurts, uncertainty, confusion..." She began to stammer and quiver, then lowering her wavering gaze to the tiny distance between their feet.

Athen could not bear to listen further but merely seized her thin waist to pull her strongly once more into a tight passionate kiss that sealed their lips without spare. Belle was captivated by his uncontrolled impulse again and squeezed hard his unbuttoned shirt without help. Athen just kept on falling in love over and over with the sweetest taste in the world of her honey scent lips, so irresistible and cotton soft against the feel of his own.

When they reluctantly pulled apart for breaths and air, Athen grasped snugly her nervous hands against his chest as he spoke again, "You look wonderful in this blue dress you've made yesterday...But you might not have enough left after using all dresses for those tablecloths...Would you like to take some of my shirts before we get you new ones later on?"

Belle was surprised by his unexpected suggestion. She stared down at her trademark long dress with a clean white apron on, not desiring the uncomfortable loose sweatshirt and pants. Has she unintentionally made her attire appearance so out of touch with his?


	10. Chapter 10

"You've not eaten anything yesterday?" Athen asked looking at Belle worriedly. He could somewhat tell that she appeared to be deliberately suppressing a kind of nausea within her. He was not a medical doctor for no reason...

Belle tugged at the edge of her apron, not daring to answer right away. The previous day of being suddenly swept into a totally new and foreign environment was too sudden for her to bear and come to terms with. There was no such thing as hunger or appetite creeping into her blunted consciousness, not to mention her fear of approaching a strange-looking kitchen.

Athen held her close before she felt her feet weakening and the dizzy spell kicking in fully. He almost gave in to the urge to drape her arm over his shoulder and carry her over to the living room couch. Belle tried her best to assure him that she was really fine and there was no need to get so serious about her. She stepped back a little to lean against and grasped for support from the counter at a corner of the kitchen.

Athen glanced around and decided, "Just give me ten seconds and I'll get ready for you your favourite fresh apple juice..." It was a must for Belle to have it every single morning for as long as he could remember. In a flash, he had popped both hands full of apples into a juicemaker placed right beside the sink.

The moment he got the appliance started, Belle jolted in fright and gasped hard before racing to hide behind Athen and hugged his waist as tightly as she could manage. The loud noise of the juicemaker working has scared all wits out of her. Belle shut her eyes and hung on strongly to him.

"It's okay, Belle...Just a little machine to press the juice out of these apples for ya..." He held her hand firmly at his side while Belle winced and stuck her finger of the other hand deep into her ear. He then hit a button to increase the speed of the maker in order to get the juice done thrice quicker...

Belle continued to grip snugly, not wanting to let go...until the noise died down and her very first sweet breakfast drink in her new home was done.

Athen smiled and turned back around to face his nervous girl. Belle reluctantly pulled apart and uttered hardly beyond a whisper, "So sorry...I didn't mean to give you the trouble but...that thing is..." She was not certain whether to lift her gaze up at him out of intense self-consciousness of her odd response during those burdernsome ten seconds or so. Very surely, her cheeks started colouring a rosy pink.

He reached out for her hands again and embraced her tight. He could not deny the worry and concern lurking at the back of his mind but he could not have felt more blissful about the fact that she reached out for him the first instant she was afraid. To know that she could find herself protected and secure in him did wonders in assuring that him that he was still her true need whom she could fully trust. No matter how difficult the situation may be, he would be the one she could grasped onto regardless of the circumstance...He kissed her forehead affectionately and pulled her more strongly against his chest within his arms to share the warmth of their bodies in a priceless moment of mutual closeness...To feel the fast beating of her heart against his own...


	11. Chapter 11

To enjoy a late morning sumptuous breakfast prepared single-handedly by her charming man inside a dining hall that was even larger than her provincial town home bedroom and under the lights of sparkling and glistening chandeliers was akin to living inside an 18th century enchanted castle for Belle. The much bigger dish of her so-called American breakfast than Athen's right next to each other caused her undue hesitance to consume it pleasurably as she held loosely onto the silvery cutlery in her hands. With the nauseous feeling almost completely dissipated, she intently considered all the perceivable differences between her dish contents and those modest repelling village food she used to have about three centuries ago.

Beside her and beyond her direct awareness, Athen has stopped eating and was attentively observing Belle's indecisiveness. He set down his utensils and pulled his chair upclose to her side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Belle, would you like something better? Or you are preferring your Mondays' Quaker cereals?" He asked with keen concern.

Belle snapped out of her reverie and turned to him with a soft smile, patting his hand on her, "That's not it, Athen...But, I just have a thought..."

He tried to suppress any betrayal of worried expression as he replied, "What's that? Do you want to let me know about it?"

She nodded affirmingly and held his hand with both of hers, "Yes, I really want to, above all else...Athen, thank you so much for everything and all that you've done for me...But, it would not be fair if I don't tell you in all honesty..."

Athen ended up dragging his chair even twice closer so that their knees were now literally attached together. Belle drew a deep breath before she continued in a somber tone, "Athen, I actually...came from another world...and another period of history...that is, 18th century France..."

He was dumbstruck with his earnest gaze turning dazed and dreamy, "Belle..."

She lowered her head to avert his penetrative eyes, "Sorry, I don't...know...Athen...This is too much for you I understand...but I hope you could believe me in the very least..."

He was not at all certain at the moment and so touched Belle's forehead with his free hand confusingly, then leaned himself forward to feel it emotionally with his own. His strong warm breaths were enveloping hers and every bit of her facial skin that came in contact with his.

Before a minute went by, Athen pulled back unwillingly, allowing Belle's sudden rapid breathing to relax down to normal. He held firmly to her hands on his lap as she bravely lifted her gaze to lock intensely with his...

"Belle, can you somehow remember me?" He reluctantly questioned her.

She was nearly at a lost for words but still gradually managed to answer, "For all that you've told me since yesterday, that's all I know about this whole new world of surprises I was brought into..."

Athen was finding his intellectual capacity descending weaker and weaker to its lowest point in life...There has never been so deep and soul-crushing a pain as seeing his priced love losing all conscious connections with himself...


	12. Chapter 12

The long line-ups of surgeries which Athen needed to perform during the upcoming week put him in the most difficult position of not being able to care for Belle and to gain better understanding of her condition as much as he ought and wanted to. The schedules listed on the planner was a detestable thing that disproved of his lifelong promise to be by her side when she needed him most at a time like this.

At his wits' end, he figured the only way he could do was to seek the help of his closest aunt, a reputable neuropsychologist who was now working in the same hospital with him. Fortunately, she was willing to extend some help when he requested over the phone.

"So is she currently emotionally stable?" The woman in her late 60s sounded concerned and curious at the same time.

He sighed wearily, "As long as she is not provoked by things which are obviously stimulating, especially advanced tech gadgets and appliances...Otherwise, they can cause much fear in her...I'm not able to get in touch with Maurice all day...He's still vacationing out there somewhere, as you know him..."

"Hmmm...Understood...Has she gotten over that delusion or hallucination you were saying just now?"

Leaning against the table in his study, Athen hated to repeat the answer, "To the best of my knowledge, I would say no...Though I did not try to refute her belief explicitly...I just simply push it to the back of my mind, could not bear to touch on this since noon..."

A brief heavy silence followed, after which Aunt Gerry spoke up decisively, "I perceive that she is still very much emotionally volatile at the moment so it's not a good idea for you to bring her to my office right away tomorrow. That would heighten her anxiety and possibly escalate her delusional symptoms. I will come by instead and have a light chat with her, if that sounds good..."

Athen could not be more grateful for such kindest help. They talked just a little bit more about the time and arrangements that should be carefully considered based on Belle's situation before hanging up.

When Athen could at least have some minimal peace of mind after settling tomorrow's matter with his aunt, he quickly headed out of the quiet study to check on his wife...

Noting that she was not anywhere inside their room, he then heard the slow opening of the bathroom door right opposite and it dawned on him that she was just done with her shower.

Seeing her tugging anxiously onto her bathrobe and visibly trembling, Athen immediately got worried sick once more. Belle's movements were also quite unsteady as she struggled to grope onto the wall with a pale-stricken face.

He rushed upclose and held her to provide support, "Belle? How did the shower go?" It did not take more than a second for him to be enlightened when her hands and face felt extremely icy cold on his.

"You didn't turn on the hot water, did you?" He questioned apprehensively and the instant she lifted a guilty gaze up at him, he required no further answer.

"Sorry, love...I should have taught you how..." He skillfully draped her arm over his shoulder and swept her off her feet to carry his distressed damsel swiftly into bed at mere steps away. Laying her cautiously down and pulling the thick comforters to tuck her in, he wasted no time to fetch her his warmest sweater to change into and a full glass of hot water.

After successfully ensuring that her body heat has been regained and colour once again returned to freshen her complexion, he could breathe relief with a calmer heart.

Taking another long sip of water with hands no longer uncontrollably shaky, Belle turned with a soft smile to Athen down by the bedside and thanked him dearly.

"Sorry, I feel much better now...Please don't worry about me," she still experienced much security gripping snugly onto his strong palm.

He brought her fingers against his lips to kiss them tenderly, "I can't...I will never cease to be worried about you...But that's what I also love to be..."

She placed the glass onto the table and turned on her side to face him more closely, reaching with her other hand to feel the smooth sharp features of his temple. "I don't mean to hurt you...but I just don't know what else to say, Athen...Forgive me," she whispered in a bittersweet tone.

He shook his head, "It's not your fault...Perhaps, the wedding's been too soon for you..."

Belle understood clearly that her revelation was too overboard a fantasy, even she could not fully believe and come to grips with such unimaginable reality. She tried to assure him, "Athen, you don't have to trust me if you don't want to...I'm also at a lost...only time will tell us why..."

He could still recognise her pure innocence that never failed to captivate his burning passion. She always have it within her all along, his girl has never really left him stranded on the shores of undiscernable uncertainty. Belle, from the moment he came to know her, has started the fire of their love that was meant for eternity. Time sure would find the light at the end of a tunnel for them...


	13. Chapter 13

"To the Belle of my Life,

I hate to leave you and this home so soon before seeing you opening your eyes and awake this morning...But, that's the part and parcel of being a surgeon...I am so sorry and words can't express how bad I feel about this. Please believe me that I never wanted to miss you by my side every second of the day, and I promise that I'll be home before midnight tonight.

I know you will feel alone and uncertain being in the house by yourself. So I have arranged for my Aunt Gerry to come by and keep you company when she is free in the late morning. She is also just as worried as me about you as we have always been very close with her. She loves to chat so if you are unsure about anything in the house or need any kind of help, as a caring elderly lady, she will try her best to ensure that you are well taken care of on my behalf...Belle, I will always be thinking of you, no matter how far apart we are...I love you...

Always yours,

Athen..."

When she had read the beautifully-written note left by Athen on the bedside, Belle smiled and felt her eyes moistening again. It was like hearing his voice speaking soft and clear to her ears and within her heart. She was affectionately touched by his sweet care and love for her once more...

Sitting straight up on the edge of their bed, she reached for a pen inside the drawer earnestly wanting to try her hand at replying to his heartfelt message. She was so grateful to God for him and yet in awe of how impossibly wonderful that He had arranged for them to have each other in such an illogical and time-defying way. The more she thought, the more still the fingers of her right hand remained as she fell into a loss of expression and description about the actual state of her heart in relation to Athen's. He was so selfless and self-sacrificing towards her and every need to the point that she found him hard to come to grips with at times. What was there so good about her which led him to be extremely concerned about? She squeezed tight the rubbery surface of the ballpoint pen, finding a lot of conflicting identities inside of her current confused self churning and bubbling like the boiling waters inside a kettle.

Has she really fallen in love with him? They were still kind of strangers to each other...Then again, if she was feeling only just a little for him, what was that surging urge each time he held her close to himself? Was it a wrong thing to have such insensible emotions?

She looked down at the scented note in her palm, but it ended up that she inadvertently breathed in Athen's unique odour emanating from his thick knitted sweater she was now wearing. Belle set down the thin pen and tugged strongly unto the priced garment of his on herself. It was a special way of feeling the intimacy of his presence in her life. It seemed that he has a preference for the colours beige and champagne yellow...As for her, she liked peach and carnation pink...


	14. Chapter 14

Warily and cautiously, Belle opened the front door of the home for the first time to the sound of the doorbell. Making much effort to suppress all preconceived negative thoughts running all throughout her head about their so-called Aunt Gerry, she also has to consciously relax her breathing and whispered a prayer before facing up to the never-known visitor...

"Good morning, Ma'am! Here's a special flower delivery for ya!" A completely unexpected cheery voice of a late-teen delivery girl greeted in front of her eyes.

All the unnecessary tension just simply burst into inexistence off Belle, who was immensely surprised. She instantly stepped forward to welcome the prettiest sight of a huge bouquet of fresh-cut forget-me-nots, perfume pink roses and carnations as well as tender baby breaths. They brought a touching smile to her blushing face.

"Why, thank you...Thank you so much..." She expressed warmly as the girl handed over the flowers into her hands.

"No problem...Have a very pleasant day, Ma'am!" She quickly bade and headed off to her scooter parked by the gate.

The lovely scent from the bouquet in her hands coupled with the freshest morning air from the open garden delighted Belle's senses with much pleasure and energy. She reluctantly stepped inside and closed the door in order to waste no time in fetching a matching vase for the flowers. However, her pace slowed as she caught sight of a little heart-shaped card inserted into the middle of the bouquet.

"Whenever I see these flowers, they remind me of you and how precious you are in my life...I love you always...

Forever yours,

Athen..."

Belle smiled again, as thoughts of him encircled her heart and mind...She drew the flowers close to her face and kissed them, endeared by the beauty and wonder of his love...

A second of blissful timelessness and Belle was frightened by the sudden high-pitched ringing of the living room telephone. The bouquet fell off her grasp and landed on the low coffee table.

For now, she could have an unwarned practice of what she learned when Athen taught her how to use a modern telephone. It seemed easy but Belle still has to set aside fears to exercise her untrained skill.

She raced over to the side table where the phone was placed and stooped down to stare attentively at it for almost a minute. The caller was patient and the phone kept on sounding. Belle has to stick one finger into her ear to calm her apprehensive emotions and doubts.

A minute hit its end and Belle winced and braced herself hard when she finalised her decision to lift up the handset. With the mouthpiece against her other uncovered ear, Belle whispered a nervous 'hello'...

It was silent and not so silent when she heard some little noises coming from the earpiece positioned over her head. Belle jerked back and threw the whole thing onto the table. Yet, it did more good than harm when the caller's deafening voice was still clearly audible and Belle gradually leaned over out of curiosity to rest her head on the table so as to listen close to the earpiece.

The sound was utterly strange to her at first, but then confusion gave way to certainty and soon an everlasting familiarity...


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh, Papa! It's such a precious miracle to see you in this world once again! I've been thinking about you night and day...and...and almost thought it will be completely hopeless for me! Oh, Papa!" Belle hugged Maurice as tight as she ever could upon opening the door and recognising him even before a full glance. Belle felt her whole being was overflowing with utter joy that she was practically squeezing her dear old father so hard that he might just burst like an over-filled balloon.

Wide-eyed and choked by Belle's positive force to the point of coughing breathlessly, he struggled to spill out the words, "W-ait...W-...ait...Wait, Belle...Just tell me all that's been going on? I-I-...I was flustered by your Aunt Gerry's urgent call...this morning...I called off my safari trip last minute...and...a-nd now...Please, Belle...tell Papa what went wrong with this first week of your...wedding?"

Wiping off tears of joy and relief, Belle reluctantly pulled apart after kissing Maurice longingly on the cheek. It was so hard to describe the surging thrills and uncontainable emotions when she could behold for real her only blood-related kin in this world, now dressed in a typical modern wildlife adventurer's khaki shirt and shorts and wearing matching rounded light hat over his half-balding head. She could not help smiling and giggling like a bubbly child seeing a rare comical side and style of her beloved daddy.

Maurice was ever more puzzled and concerned about his precious and only daughter now that she was displaying a reaction that seemed a total opposite of what Aunt Gerry has described to him over the phone. He began to entertain the fact that his daughter was in fact as healthy and stable as the last time they parted at the airport shortly after her wedding ceremony with Athen. Has he been shocked for the past hours of plane flight back here for nothing?

"Belle! Tell Papa everything...are you feeling okay now?" Maurice tried to hold Belle still and steady, getting her to pay attention despite the convincing distraction.

She could hardly put off the contented smile on her face. Patting Maurice, she suggested for them to head inside the home first and settling down on the sofa before regaining the calm to explain everything to him.

Once they were seated, Maurice sharply caught notice of Belle's sweater and asked earnestly, "My Belle, do assure Papa that you're still getting along fine with Athen...This sweater of his you're wearing...I find it impossible to believe Aunt Gerry now..."

Belle replied curiously, "Papa, you know about this belonging to Athen as well? Oh, I know no one is gonna believe me, Papa...but I will still tell you everything because I can only trust you now..."

Maurice adjusted his small pair of circular-shaped glasses a little in confusion again, "Belle, you really don't remember? You knitted this whole piece of sweater for Athen's birthday this year, spending over a month losing sleep due to the heavy work...Oh my dear, please don't worry Papa...Do you feel any headache or a kind of loss in memory right now?"

Belle was not expecting such a revelation at all, being very much surprised at what Maurice told and then looked down at her so-called warmest gift for whom was now her legitimate husband...Feeling the perfectly interwoven knits desiringly with her hands, she wondered what other bittersweet memories she could have shared with him in the time span of more than a century she had never been through...


	16. Chapter 16

"Athen Christen Goodenough and Bellynn Beatrice Beaumont request the pleasure of your company...Hmmm..." Belle looked over a copy of the wedding invitation card which Maurice had happily kept with him throughout his adventure trip and now brought along to let Belle see for herself in hope that it would do much to help.

Maurice glanced over his shoulder at his daughter who was reading attentively as she leaned by the kitchen counter after he skillfully cracked a few eggs over the sizzling frying pan on the stove. He added in a thoughtful tone, "Ah, my lovely Beatrice...This is actually your mother's first name..."

Belle lifted her gaze off the pink and blue scented card, "Ooohh...I know dearest Mommy when I was still three...And then...I lost her..."

Maurice sniffed with moistening eyes, but still effortlessly overturned each of the fast cooking eggs meant for Belle's late brunch. He fidgeted with the edges of Athen's apron he now wore while he attempted his best to diverge from the topic. "Yes, hon...But I know...we know she never left us...I still have the picture of us three taken during your fifth birthday...Wonderful times they are..."

Belle wondered, "Fifth birthday? Papa, are you sure you recalled correctly? That doesn't seem like it..."

Maurice got distracted from the task and turned to face Belle again, "No, no, no...Dear, I can perfectly understand why you're not clear on this...Don't worry, Papa will show you everything in no time...but for now, I need to get you healthy and well again! You need to eat well, sleep well and stay away from all fears and worries, alright?"

Belle raised a doubting eyebrow and lightly set down the card, "Papa, you're not really believing me and all that I told you...I'm totally honest about this time travel experience...You saw me reading that novel by H. G. Wells in our old provincial town home, didn't you? And didn't you just promise me that you would help me look for that book once again?"

Maurice was not expecting his daughter would be this seriously offended by his half-hearted trust in her bizzare story. He went up to the counter, desperately waving and gesturing his apology with one of his hand still holding on to the frying utensil in order to appease his precious daughter.

Belle smoothed the lower part of her(and Athen's) sweater and a sky blue colour maxi skirt she has sewn the other day to wear comfortably before noticeably dismissing Maurice's pleading. She deliberately spun around and headed over to the vase of flowers Athen bought which she has beautifully arranged and set on the living area coffee table.

Maurice knew he was in for trouble having sensed Belle's sunken mood. Worse still, the heavy smell of burned eggs spreading throughout the adjoining kitchen and living room caused him to rush back and forth frantically to discard the hopelessly overcooked dish of failure. Throwing the frying pan and everything else into the sink and running the cold faucet water over them, Maurice then wiped his hands dry on the apron again and paced swiftly over to Belle's side by the couch.

Watching dreamily at the pretty sight of roses and carnations before her, Belle imagined herself seeing one of the deep red petals flashed and sparkled like dancing rays of rainbow in front of her eyes. It was fleeting in that she gave no second thought to their varying appearance but which still felt intriguing real to her dulled awareness...

"Now, Belle...Papa is extremely sorry for hurting you," Maurice carefully seated himself beside the ignorant girl. "But dear, believe that Papa is always here for you, supporting all that you have to say, no matter how incomprehensible they may sound..."

Belle shifted a little away from him and continued to play with the tender soft petals, not certain how she should come to terms with the fact that even her very own father was finding her words overly far-fetched.

Maurice sighed exasperately, "Oh, it's all Papa's fault...Belle, please know that Papa do accept everything you have told me. You've always been Papa's brightest girl, an aspiring 21st century doctor who is about to get accepted into the best medical school!"

Belle was immediately surprised by Maurice, "What did you say, Papa? Girls don't become doctors!"

He began to feel his worries surely for Belle now much like how Athen did at first. He gently patted her with an aching heart and revealed, "Actually Belle, one of the reasons you and Athen decided to postpone your honeymoon is because of your scheduled medical college admission exam this week. He spoke with me over the phone before I boarded my flight that he had cancelled it for an emergency reason."

Belle was never more stunned to hear of such.

A/N: I would choose the book which Belle read to be "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells. It was published in 1895 but I hope you could bear with me to assume that it happened at the same time when this Beauty and the Beast story was written. I could not find a better choice than this novel.


	17. Chapter 17

When Athen arrived home at just a quarter to twelve that night, he saw Belle still sitting up on bed with the lights on upon cautiously opening their bedroom door. She has been reading a book related to the admissions exam for the past hour and was relieved to find that time has passed rapidly as she looked up to meet his gaze. Athen rushed up to the bedside after setting down his bag and gratefully sat by her.

"How are you feeling today?" He softly asked while drawing near and sweeping a few strands of her auburn bangs behind her ears.

She offered a light smile and nod, "I'm okay...been learning a lot for the whole day..."

Athen could perceive the suppressed exhaustion and weariness in her tender voice that made him take note of the study guide in her hands. "This is too much for you...Has dad been telling a lot to you today?" He was about to slide away the thick cover book from her firm grasp when Belle reached out to his hand.

"It's alright, Athen...I've caused enough of trouble...Even father is tired of me...He could finally get his rest now for the day and sleep soundly in the visitor's room," Belle explained regretfully. On the other side of the bed was laid over a dozen of heavy photo albums which she has spent nearly the whole day studying and trying to fit into every nook and cranny of her memory capacity. Athen's heart ached deep upon being aware of them and sensing Belle's hurts intimately as she uttered only to him just a little above a whisper...

He leaned much closer to less than an inch from her when he could hear Belle's breathing quickening and her eyes began to glisten amidst welling tears. She immediately lowered her head to avoid facing him. Athen instinctively lunged forward to lift her chin to kiss passionately those alluring eyes of hers.

She tried to control her sobs but they demanded strong conscious effort. When Athen gradually pulled apart against his urges, Belle quickly rubbed her eyes dry to behold his yearning ones which simply could not bear to stray away from his priceless love...

"Tell me everything," Athen spoke again earnestly. "I want to know everything you want me to know..."

Her voice quivered as she looked into those undying ocean blues, "Athen, I don't...understand..."

He kissed her pale fingers, "I don't care about how you think I would never believe or understand you...I just want to know...because you have always been a part of my longing, once empty heart...I wouldn't let my mind and any logic principle to come in between us...I want to believe you, Belle...I have decided on that and it will never be changed...I want you more than anything that's in existence...Can you trust me, Belle? I love you...and it's for eternal..."

Tears fell like minute torrents from Belle's now intensely warm eyes. She brought his hand holding hers upclose to caress against her wet cheeks.

"Thank you," she whispered and thrust herself impulsively forward to wrap her arms around his neck. She feverishly planted an touching and loving kiss on his lips. Before she could reluctantly released her grip from him, Athen pressed her back and waist powerfully towards his own body and prevented her lips from escaping his persisting her first move to assume relentlessly tight control over them, unwilling and unable beyond his senses to let go. They felt just so perfect and smooth without blemish for his own that it was impossible for him to restrain...Locking continuously together their desirous mouths in this way was more than a timeless heavenly bliss linking both their souls into one...Even though he was going to restart history all over again, he would pursue her heart without cease.


	18. Chapter 18

As morning dawned, Athen first awakened from a sweet night of dreams shared with his darling wife as she laid peacefully asleep on his broad chest and the both of them snuggled up so close and tight that it was a miracle they could still breathe without trouble. When he opened his eyes and gazed passionately down at the sleeping beauty under his chin, he could not resist kissing her side temple and smoothing those silky fringes that felt like pure velvet against his skin. He adored the mesmerising honey-like scent of her cheek and lips and it was no wonder that his lovely lady was a God-given angel to him.

Subconsciously sensing the warm pulsating of his breaths over her face, Belle began to stir a little and slowly but surely lightly opened her eyes...To behold the first thing his gaze cast endearingly at her with a handsome smile led Belle to mistaken reality for a fantasy world of fairytales...Utterly lost without logic and reasoning in his eyes, Belle lifted a finger without the need to reach for more than an inch apart between their faces to feel dreamily his sharp jawline, then trailing pleasurably to the upper well-defined contours of his fair temple and forehead...Was he ever a Prince for real?

"Morning..." He whispered just like how he did the other dawn.

Her fingers rested on the edges of his golden brown hair as the girl's tender cheeks began to turn a bashful rose pink...

Athen's hands easily found their way to lay hold firmly of hers on him. There was a kind of longingness in his eyes whenever hers met them that seemed to speak of an endless heartfelt message.

"Morning...Did I...?" Belle let out an abrupt soft sneeze that interrupted her question and brought a fondness of a smile to Athen's face.

"Is my shirt too thin for you?" He asked with concern over the fact that Belle was only wearing his cotton workshirt from the night before. He quickly reached out to grab the much thicker knitted sweater of his that she had on previously to tuck her fully under it for necessary warmth.

"Thanks,...but don't you need it too?" Belle returned with more profuse blushing this time, averting her gaze away from his undressed chest but still interlocking her thin fingers yearningly with his.

He kissed her forehead dearly and leaned down to hug her snug towards himself, "I only need you close to me..."

Belle was grateful for the intimate heat shared between their bodies, "Athen, you're too good for me...I wouldn't have imagined..."

He shut his eyes against the feel of her hair and intensely enjoyed her devoted embrace, "You once said to me...'How could I ever marry a Prince? I would have to be a...'"

"Princess? Was it when we were in the countryside?" Belle was not sure why such words appeared to trigger a surging familiarity of mixed emotions within her.

* * *

A/N: For this story, let's assume that Beauty and the Beast as a fairy tale was never written or published, and that Disney never produced the animation classic.


	19. Chapter 19

"We were spending one of those weekends outdoor on the green country hillside...just you and me..." Athen recalled and described in a simple touching way to Belle nestled blissfully in his arms as they both lay under the covers.

Belle closed her eyes to wallow within the safe comfort he supplied her. "I'm not a Princess," she whispered reaching to encircle her hands around his firm neck.

He looked down at her again, captivated by the beauty of her pair of round eyelashes, "Then I held your hands and told you that day...I am a Prince because I want to use my whole life to build you a castle that will promise you a real fairytale..."

She opened her eyes and lifted her gaze up to lock with his. She did not know what to say but his eyes seemed to read transparently through her heart and emotions. This close to him, it was more beautiful than a fairytale even though she had not read much of a scarce genre back in her provincial town life.

Needless for words, he leaned down to close that thin space of air between their faces and kissed her lips tenderly and then passionately. Belle was overpowered by the heat of his skin enveloping her whole being. She was helplessly lost in his overwhelming desire for her and there was no way now that she could even resist his every active move and advance. To be apart from him turned out to be last thing she could ever imagined her messed up life and perception of time to end in. If only this moment could last forever, just him not letting go and neither did sheas she accepted him. Just him showering ceaseless kisses of dreams and eternity on every part of her face made her wanted all the more to belong solely to him alone...He has become an irreplaceable portion of her life...

* * *

A/N: Sorry for this short chapter, but I ran out of ideas...


	20. Chapter 20

After hanging up on an early morning phone call, Athen turned excitedly to Belle and broke the news to her, "It's approved, Belle! I requested for our late honeymoon vacation to be preponed and it's been granted!"

Belle took some seconds to mentally process what he just told, "You mean to say..."

He stepped closer and held her hands with dazzling delight brimming from his eyes, "I...don't have to go to work today and the rest of the month...How wonderful..."

Uncertainty gave way to gladness on Belle's lovely face as a smile reappeared, "Oh, that is an amazing surprise...But how about those who are sick and needed you?"

He smiled and said, "Actually, we had made plans to go for our honeymoon right after our wedding but delayed for the sake of a last-minute arrangement to sit for your Medical College Admissions Test(MCAT). During that time, I had talked with all my patients to postpone their surgeries and everything was settled then so that they're all mentally well-prepared for the new schedules...Now, it's like going back to God's foremost original plan for us both, and miraculously..."

"Oh, sorry Athen," Belle simply uttered without a second thought and stared down at her hands cupped within his grasp.

He touched her chin and then pulled her back into his tight tender hug, whispering, "I've never felt so happy and grateful with such a news, now realising how much more important you are to me than everything else...To think I could see you every moment of every single day...It's heaven on earth..."

Belle courageously huddled close to his strong body, "I never thought heaven could be this real too...Thank you, Athen..."

He planted a soft kiss on her hair and felt its silkiness with his lips...It was like Belle could hear the sound of his intense heartbeat as she rested securely against his chest...

...

"Breakfast time, everybody! Tasty French Toast, irresistible English Muffins, yummy Greek salad and healthy Italian vegetarian frittata all sizzling and ready right down here on your lower floor!" The energetic sing-song voice of Maurice resounding all the way from the kitchen downstairs broke off in a timely way Athen and Belle's sweet intimacy inside their first-floor bedroom. They giggled tacitly and pulled apart with reluctance to get dressed together and headed towards the bathroom.


	21. Chapter 21

Athen and Belle were delighted with the sight of a sumptuous breakfast laid attractively on the dining table and prepared single-handedly by none other than the girl's top chef father.

"Bon appetit!" Maurice proudly announced and snapped his fingers.

Belle chuckled and went up to hug her dearest dad, "Thank you so much, Papa! You're heaven's talent! I should have come down to lend you a hand..."

Maurice patted his daughter lovingly and smiled, "No problem, hon...Papa loves to feed you both well..." He then untied Athen's apron which he was wearing and wiped his hands clean to grab hold of a handy coat and hat from the hook to put on.

Belle and Athen exchanged tacit confusing glances at each other before asking in one voice, "Where are you heading, Papa?"

Buttoning up his coat very swiftly, he playfully winked at them, "You should know how much necessary ingredients your under-stocked kitchen is lacking...You can be expecting a candlelight banquet feast from me for tonight so I need to get going now...Make the most of your opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved couple's moment! Au revoir!" He easily picked a shopping trolley and dragged it along with him to wave goodbye at them before shutting the front door.

Once they were left by themselves, Belle looked questioningly at Athen before evading his expectant gaze on her with colouring cheeks. He smiled and closed their distance, taking her hand, "Just tell me anything you feel like is missing from the table and I'll whip it up in seconds..."

Belle was not expecting him to be this much concerned about her currently unsettled preference. She shook her head, "Oh no, I'm your wif-..." She blushed noticeably upon realising her unintentional slip of the tongue. She then cleared her throat shyly before emphasising and pointing to the kitchen, "Errm...I mean, if there's anything you want more, I'll try my best to handle that...?"

His touching smile reappeared, "I guess...we both want a part in cooking for each other..." He then pulled out the chair for her.

Belle turned hesitant and decided not to sit down first. Lifting her gaze to face Athen, she curiously asked him, "Athen, I think I saw a little book in the drawer yesterday...It's strangely labelled "A&B"...and that caused me wondering..."

He quickly beamed with pleasure and explained, "It's a diary we have been keeping and writing together..."

She gave a brief thought before realising, "You mean..."Athen & Belle"? Our names are alphabetical...that's unbelievable..."

Athen could not help smiling again, "It's destiny...Belle, I'm so blessed and it's all because of you...Words could not describe how deeply I have fallen in love with you..."

An endearing smile also spread across her face, "Athen...I..."

He leaned forward to kiss her impulsively and longingly once more, leaving her heart wholly captured by him as always.

She was now ever more certain than before. Holding tight onto his hands, she confessed in a slightly quivering whisper, "Athen, I...love...you too..."

He drew back a little, with his yearnful gaze not leaving hers even for a split second...

Just steps away from them, where the vase of flowers which Athen gave Belle stood on the coffee table, the rose petals glowed and shimmered with musical melody and iridescent rays of rainbows. The colourful lights shone forth, blowing the petals apart and sending them flying rhythmically out of the vase holding them and over to Athen and Belle's side, encircling them with gusts of wavelike clusters like protective shields of sparkling flurries. When they gradually became aware of the sudden magical occurrence surrounding them, both were enthralled...


	22. Chapter 22

"Such wonderful song...I thought I heard it not too long ago..." Belle uttered in awe within Athen's embrace as their home continued to be filled with a unique musical strings melody that seemed to be played out of nowhere. The rainbowish petals danced about the couple like fountains of countless tiny angelic butterflies. Just when Belle recalled vividly that she came to know this blissful tune during her dreams when she fell asleep on the last night she was still in her 18th century home, Athen pulled her closer to himself...

"So this is all the magic you've told me," he smiled touchingly looking down at her snug against his chest. "I'm so glad that I believed you, Belle...I used to think that fairytales are nothing, but you gave me their true meaning...I've never felt so peaceful..." He kissed her lips and they beheld in amazement the wonderful sight revolving around their every side.

Athen took Belle's hand to reach out together and open their palms to catch hold of one of the butterfly-like perfume rose petals. One piece of flashing pink, blue and violet descended on them...To their surprise, the music slowly began to fade into a softer tone and the petal shone forth a blinding light on Athen and Belle's surprised faces. The original form of the petal morphed into a thick cubelike shape that enlarged and expanded itself. The light gradually dissipated to reveal a hardcover book which immediately appeared familiar to Belle...However, her memory was uncertain as there was not a single word of a title printed on the smooth cover, both back and front. Both of them stooped down to study the mysterious item in their hands. Turning to its side, they saw no edges of the pages bound inside it but instead, there was a solid plate of shiny gold running along its length with an attached lock much like a secret diary that has a keyhole in the middle.

By this time, the beautiful music has indeed faded altogether into silence and all the petals returned to their former natural colours which flew like a programmed autumn breeze all the way back to the stems placed inside tha vase on the table. However, the only remnant of the puzzling book item was left behind.

Athen glanced about and then turned to Belle before being the one to break the still silence. "Belle, is this the book the one you told me about last night?"

She felt with her fingers the unblemished surface that resembled so much like a long-lost antique for a brief while. "I don't know, Athen...It's strange, now that I struggle to remember...I don't know anything about it now...?" She turned apparently worried.

Athen assured, "It's alright, love...We'll figure everything out...I won't let you be exposed to any harm, no matter how mysterious it is...Thanks for all the beauty today that I can never forget."

She looked up at him, "But, Athen...I'm not sure what we should do with this one queer book."

"Perhaps, we can keep it with us in a safe place first," he added with sure confidence that easily calmed her every fear.


	23. Chapter 23

Taking Belle out into their home garden for the first time and seated together on a heart-shaped frame couple swing by the rose bushes which she had planted, Athen hoped that she could finally get a chance to relax to the fullest being in the open sunshine and see the world around them without undue fear...He noticed she had not eaten much for breakfast and he knew very well what was troubling her heart.

Their fingers interlocking, Athen pulled her close to rest her weary head on his shoulder as they gazed quietly upon the multi-coloured flower beds lining the broad evergreen lawn surrounding them. Belle was deep in thought and apprehension filled her mind and emotions as she recapped all the strange things that have occurred once again much like the first morning when she was transported supernaturally into this 21st century...She glanced down at Athen's hand that was holding hers and gripped onto it even more tightly and drawing close to her own chest.

He kissed her hair affectionately and said, "It's gonna be alright...I won't ever let you go..."

She cupped his hand yearningly with both of hers, about to break down any moment. "Athen, I don't know what's the meaning behind that book...I might be taken away any time because everything's so strange now..."

He turned to face her, "Don't worry, Belle...I believe there's a reason why we are with each other now...We'll solve the mystery together."

Her eyes were moistening, "I really don't mind the mystery...It's just that I..."

He put his lips on her eyes, then comforted, "I know, I can't bear to part with you for a second, much less a lifetime..."

She hugged him close, "Perhaps the Belle whom you originally knew will return...but I am not sure if I will ever see you again if I go back..."

He shook his head, breathing in fully the mesmerising scent of hers, "No, Belle...I don't care who you are or where you've come from...I need you more than anything. I don't recognise anyone else..."

Belle's tears fell...

Like a flash, the sky behind and above them brought forth a full circle of a dazzling colourful rainbow shining like a heavenly crown of favour over them and boring steadfast witness to their timeless love and destiny.

* * *

A/N: Another short one again, I am having a minor author's block. -_-


	24. Chapter 24

Stooping down by the vintage bedside table, Belle cautiously pulled open the drawer and took out the mysterious untitled and locked gold-plated book from inside. As she beheld it, her pretty eyebrows creased and she began sceptically suspecting any likely negative consequence of keeping this item with them since the morning. She half-heartedly considered discarding it away altogether.

There was another most priced book laid inside the drawer and that was a lovely diary shared between Athen and her. Attracting her sideglance, she was tempted to flip it open again to see what they have written together...

"When I think of us,

I can see why there is Love,

Because when the sun kisses the rain,

I see Heaven's bow that never ends,

When glorious rays shine on icy tears,

It's when God shows the shape of His smiling eye and brow,

That colours the sky like a magical gem. -B"

"When I think of us,

I ask myself what means 'forever',

I never knew the answer until you gave it to me,

The sight of 'forever' is the glisten in your eyes,

Its sound is in your voice when you sing,

It is when we kiss that I feel its touch,

The scent between you and me when we embrace,

That's when time and the universe stand still,

To surround us with the heartbeat of 'forever'. -A"

Belle was immensely touched by the affectionate words after she had read the first two pages. She leaned back against the side of their bed on the carpet and brought the diary close to her beating chest. Pondering over every moment they have shared so far together, her heart raced faster and she felt heat rising to flush her cheeks rose red. Looking over at the other puzzling book on the floor by the edge of her blue skirt, she dreamily and playfully ran her finger across its front stiff cover...

In a flash, sparkling glimmer of light rays as though coming from a fairy's wand appeared out of the blue following the pattern created by Belle's finger, causing her to jerk back in fright and surprise. She nearly dropped her diary in astoundment.

"A-t-h-e-n..." She read when the unexpected shimmers disappeared as quick as it came to be seen and they left Athen's name written across the middle of the front cover.

Belle stared dumbfounded at her own fingers and then back at the newly-written book. She breathed a deep sigh of confusion before a soft knock was heard from the door.

"Did you get a good nap, hon?" It was Athen's voice from behind and he quietly opened the door to enter the room.

"Oh, Athen...You won't believe this...what just happened to the thing!" Belle scrambled to her feet to rush towards his side. However, when it seemed that Athen actually brought along something else big into the room to show her, Belle gasped in utter further amazement.

"Belle, I had wanted to let you see this earlier..." He smiled tenderly at her as he revealed what was behind his hands.

It nearly took her breath away, for it was the exact piece of gorgeous ballgown wedding dress worn by 'her' supposedly in their wedding portrait.


	25. Chapter 25

"How do you think?" Belle came out of their walk-in closet donning the gorgeous wedding gown Athen brought in for her, the same one which she saw in their wedding portrait hung inside their room. Holding up very carefully the thick and heavy but satin smooth skirt of her off-the-shoulder ballgown, Belle needed to walk each step very cautiously. The sweetheart style dress has lovely bows both front and back all the way down the centre length of its cathedral train as well as pattern of numerous cute champagne pink rose and daisy appliques coupled with diamond crystal beading. When she set her first sight on the marvellous creation, Belle was breathless and found it hard to believe it was for real. Now that she was indeed wearing it, a kind of peaceful calm and bliss returned making her feel like a little princess she used to be when her mother was still around.

One step further out of the closet door and closer to Athen standing by and awaiting her, Belle was distracted as she lifted her gaze to meet his charming blues and ended up tripping over the edge of her extremely long skirt.

Just when she thought it was going to be a silly fall and unsightly mess, Athen only needed to take one stride toward her and he already caught her waist in a flash to keep her from slipping for certain. Her frame fit just right and perfect in his arms as he held her strong and tight. Belle wrapped her hands around his neck to achieve more balance, but in reality it was to ease her tensed emotions. This second, they were caught in a rather romantic couple pose that would have been a good capture for a loving portrait.

"Sorry, I'm careless again," Belle whispered just less than a inch from under him and shyly averted his eyes with warm blushes spreading all over.

Firmly possessing his grasp of her small waist, Athen smiled and caressed her baby tender cheeks with his other hand, unable to let go of her against his impulse. Slowly but surely, his fingers reached down her chin to gently raise it higher and lowering his own to meet hers, also whispering, "That's why I love to catch you...You're always more beautiful than an angel to me, Belle...I just can't help falling in love with you..."

He brought his lips to rest on and seal with hers in a feverishly passionate kiss. Their eyes closed in a tacit embrace, timeless intimacy returned and they could not bear to part from each other's mouths but kept locking and brushing against the increasingly heated skin of the other without cease...


	26. Chapter 26

Belle giggled blissfully as Athen effortlessly swept her off her feet and carried her from the doorway of the closet over to sit her smoothly on their bed. Together, they tidied and neatly arranged the enormous train of her wedding gown.

"Thank you," Belle whispered, delighting Athen's mood again.

He smiled up at her and could not resist touching her flushed pink temple and cheek, reigniting the passion within him to kiss her full lips deeply.

Squeezing his thin cotton shirt nervously, Belle once again found her hunger and thirst for his intimate move satisfied. She could not remember since how many ages ago when she had been an extremely reserved 18th-century farmgirl who would retreat her steps whenever a stranger male her age would advance towards her just to offer a soft greeting. How did she ever come to fall so hard for this perfect gentleman...who was almost like a Prince with charming golden hair and mesmerising ocean blue eyes?

Unbeknownst to them, the petals of roses which Athen gave Belle began dancing in a magical way back in the living area downstairs. Only this time, they also gave off dewdrops by themselves that moisturised the air with a scent that was even sweeter than honey...

"Did you smell it? It's beautiful..." Belle opened her eyes and smiled as she drew her hands to cup gently Athen's chin.

"What's that?" He felt her tender cheeks but Belle's very own scent was all he could detect and make sense of.

She breathed in the miraculous sweetness filling her senses, "I don't know...It's new and something that's never been encountered in my whole life until now...And it seems to speak about us..."

The sound of her voice in his ears was as graceful as angel's wings. His hands found their way to hers under his face to interlock his fingers snugly with hers. He planted a longing kiss on her forehead and said, "Belle, I've found the book by H.G. Wells on my study's bookshelf. I remember now that I just borrowed it about a month before our wedding. I've also randomly picked a few pages and have them scanned a while ago..."

Belle was happily surprised, "You really did? Thank you so much! But what do you mean by 'scanning the pages'?"

He chuckled, "It's like copying exactly those pages as they are so we get twins or triplets or even more of them when printed out but we use a machine for that and it's very quick and fast..."

Understanding easily dawned on her, "Oh, but do you have to tear out those pages in order for that to happen? Won't the library punish you for doing such?"

He was amused by her innocence and thoughtfulness, "Well, perhaps sometimes you need to...when the book is extremely thick...but our scanner machine is wonderful so I don't have to at all. I'll show the marvellous invention to you when we get into our study later...As for now, I can't wait to take you out and show you the beautiful world outside our home..."

Belle turned hesitant and then reluctant about Athen's suggestion. She lowered her gaze and brought down her hands held tight within his, "Oh...but,...Athen...I don't think...I can bear with everything out there..."

He kissed her fingers and lifted them close to his lips again, "It's soon gonna be a week since you first came into my life...I can't bear to see you so stressed by everything and not giving you a chance to forget the sad things and relax..."

Belle pondered and repeated, "Stressed...Relax...Do they have opposite meanings? Sorry Athen, but these words don't appear very often in the books I used to read..."

He swept a few strands of her bangs to the back of her ears, "Yes, they do...I've always known my wife to be bright...Stressed means you are exposed to too many bad experiences and events in life that they brought down your mood and physical energy. To relax is like slowing down to rest and free your mind and heart from the bad experiences so that you can regain the positive mood and energy once again..."

"Oh," Belle's face immediately lit up upon paying keen attention to his words. "But I need to ensure that I am ready for everything...because I don't really know how to face people when they can be very different from Papa."

He smiled, "Not to worry, I'll protect you all the way..."


	27. Chapter 27

Overwhelmed by the sight of all her dresses inside their walk-in closet, Belle stayed lost for quite a while and unable to reach the ultimate decision to grab one of them. Staring at the mirror which reflected herself still having on Athen's thick knitted sweater covering her thin singlet and a long maxi sky blue skirt, she was beginning to find her taste really odd and out of place. Those ones on the hangers seemed too short to her liking and the world from which she came from would deem them too revealing.

In a minute, Athen came up from the living room downstairs, already dressed casual but smart in a light blue polo shirt and khaki pants. When he entered to look for her with anticipation, Belle immediately turned flustered and quickly ran her fingers down a random A-line dress.

"Belle?" Instinct told him that she was still not at all ready.

"Oh, sorry..." She pulled out that lemon yellow lacy above-knee-length dress with hesitation.

Athen walked up to her and cast a brief glance at her choice before taking her hand and said regretfully, "Sorry honey, I should have transferred all your winter clothes here sooner...There are actually more of them in the other bedroom closet. Why don't we head over there?"

He was about to lead her by the hand out of the closet when Belle stopped him. "It's okay, Athen...I'll pick this one, only that...only that..."

"What is it?" He smiled fondly at her cute indecision.

Her cheeks blushed powder pink, "I'd want to know whether you like this dress on me as well?"

He chuckled softly and nodded in reply, "You'll look wonderful with these puff sleeves...And, do you think yellow and this blue on me go well together?"

Belle never used to think that those two colours actually matched but now that Athen mentioned so, he enlightened her remarkably. "Indeed," she marvelled slightly above a whisper as they both compared their clothes together.

After they giggled with pleasure, Athen thoughtfully asked, "Belle, even though it's a lovely day outside, but I hate to have you give in to my wishes without me getting sensitive to your reluctance...Do you really want to see the world out there with me? I only want you to be happy, it's true..."

Belle gazed down at the sweet wool blend dress in one hand and the other of hers tightly held in his. She interlocked her fingers with those of his and looked up at him again, "I can't wait to see the beautiful autumn day out there with you!"

He smiled gazing deep into her eyes and closed their distance to seal his lips tenderly with hers...


	28. Chapter 28

After untying her blue hair ribbon and letting down her shoulder-length hair freely again, Belle spent a brief minute brushing them neat as she sat before the mirror of the dressing table. She has just changed into the light yellow skater dress and pale grey leggings earlier. Despite feeling a little awkward in this modern attire, Belle found it intriguingly more freshly comfortable and warmer than what she previously had on in the morning.

Following, Athen entered the room bringing with him her thick and cozy overcoat. Belle got up from her chair when she saw him reaching her side.

As soon as Belle turned to face him, there was a dazzle of admiration in his eyes. "You look wonderful," he expressed and her cheeks blushed.

"Thank you," she could only afford a shy whisper and smile while lowering her gaze.

He smiled and stepped closer to offer help for her to put on the pink overcoat, but then turned hesitant to ask, "Sorry, I should have let you pick one you like most...I'm not sure why I chose this from the other closet, but I guess it's pink for girls and that's why..."

Belle looked up at him again and quickly shook her head, "Oh no, don't be...This is beautiful for my yellow dress. They are perfect for each other...Thank you so much, Athen..."

Athen could not resist smiling affectionately at her again and gently swept her auburn bangs over her shoulder. Belle gladly wore the coat this time, its addition to her appearance turning herself into a sweet and gorgeous modern-day Princess.

Just as Athen offered her his hand so they could leave the room together, Belle became indecisive again. "Err...Athen? There is just one thing I would like to do before we go..."

He nodded, "Sure definitely we can...What is that?"

She took the initiative to lessen considerably their distance apart and tiptoed to reach with her hand cautiously to lay a finger on the small bandage pasted over a still slightly-bruised edge of his foreword. There was still another one on the opposite lower part of his temple. The cuts were sustained from their fall down the stairs on their first morning together. (See Chapter 4).

"Do they still hurt you?" Belle questioned with concerned creased brows.

Athen thought he had almost forgotten completely about them. Stammering due to their proximity and the soft feel of her hand on his face, he shrugged a little nervous, "Oh...I don't...know..."

When their gaze locked, his heart raced. Belle added in a firmer tone, "I remember you telling me that bandages have to be changed often...Why don't we do this now?"

With the gentleman still a little dazed over her voluntary suggestion, Belle stepped back a little to grab his hand and gradually pulled him along to leave the room and head for the closet where the first-aid kit was.


	29. Chapter 29

Under the bright late autumn sun and a cloudless expanse of crystal blue skies, Athen has never felt so complete all his life than to lay here on a milky white sandy beach with Belle sleeping peacefully on his broad shoulder and chest less than a mile away from their home. He had driven her this far and it was just enough not to cause her to feel unnecessarily intimidated by the advanced function of the vehicle and the American suburban neighbourhood and town along the way. Their sleek silver grey recently-purchased Lexus was part of his untold family pre-planning and he had in mind before their wedding to purchase a second more spacious one. When Belle first entered the garage with him to behold this 21st-century must-have, she had held his hand really tight and marvelled how she would imagine her ex-inventor Papa to have drawn diagrams and figures representative of such ingenious asset and produced a close-to-similar robotic creation. In her awe, she unintentionally stepped on his shoes not twice but thrice as she retreated her steps to achieve a fuller global view of the whole car. She gasped and giggled and he smiled with pleasure seeing her amusement so tickled by some kind of thing considered to be extremely plain and commonplace to any post-modern person.

"It's a sparkling, thick and heavy-looking box house to me...Two eyes like windows in the front and a rectangular sign of letters and numbers like a mouth for a door...Oh, Athen...those black round wheels underneath must have enabled it to walk and travel like Papa's axe-chopper, right?"

He could still hear her soft tender voice replaying those childlike lines inside his head even at this serene quiet moment. He wrapped his arms around her waist against his warm body as tighter as ever, grateful to be this close to the angelic lady of his life. Gazing down at those tempting eyelashes of hers under his face and breathing in her sweet scent just revived and brought back into his dulled consciousness the meaning of his every heartbeat...He now could feel his heart thumping more strongly and real than ever before...The touch of her deep brown tresses against his once numbed face was silkier than velvet and smoother than a rose petal...He has never felt happier than to see her joy so unrestrained when he first stopped his car by this charming seaside and led her out of her seat to show his girl such wonder of the earth's playground meant for her to run free all over...The breeze blew and agitated her hair like a released bird allowed to fly once more in a long, long time and he instinctively asked for her hand to a cute dance on this romantic beach...She was surprised by his suggestion when he uttered it and he was attracted by the irresistible colouring pinkness which reappeared on her cheeks again...They sent a warm affection of mysterious intimacy within the heart of his chest each time her shyness showed through to him...It would take a lifetime for him to understand why she felt so right for him...Yet, he hoped she would know his feelings deep inside even though he was poor in expressing the full meaning that she has naturally brought into his life...


	30. Chapter 30

In a struggle to overcome a spell of dizziness, Athen groped for support as he floated and swayed on the surface of an ocean of innumerable red and blue rose petals...Their fascinating honey-sweet scent was light but strongly familiar, provoking unique yet fuzzy and undiscernable memories. Gradually, he regained the energy to push his feet through the permitting weight of petals under his torso. The lightheadedness beginning to dissipate, his arm muscles were able to naturally relax and strengthen themselves again, enabling him to swim his way for a possible shoreline. As blurriness also surrendered to clarity in his eye vision, he could make out a colourless glassy appearance of a sky above what was perceived to be almost an endless stretch of petal ocean. The quaint sight dampened all hopes within his heart for an escape. He figured himself to be helplessly trapped and his senses were all directionless...

He panted and rubbed his eyes, "No...Belle...Where are you? Where am I? Don't leave me alone, please...God..."

He gave up his persistence and merely stayed afloat with the lower half of his body under the petals...Burying his face depressingly in his weary hands, a blinding glow slowly began to cut through the solid sky right above him, hovering, then zapping and piercing through into the depths of all the petals, collecting and binding them into one to form an ascending giant globe of heart-shaped sphere, freeing completely Athen from being contained by them and letting the supernatural light source lifting and landing him safely on his feet like invisible angel's wings.

Sensing once more that he was standing on firm yet soft and tender ground, Athen opened his eyes again and uncovered his tear-stricken face...Now, he saw that the surrounding around him has changed to a picturesque enchanted forest. The gloom and doom clouding his mind and heart were sent away and he was able to walk freely beholding charming sweet evergreens and a rainbow of flowers of all variety of shapes and sizes...He easily remembered the day when he was with Belle in their living room and the flowers he had given her turned into an amazing magical fountain show...Only that, she was not here with him at this moment...

Such thought mysteriously aroused a sudden pain which seemed to squeezed strongly his heart...Athen winced and collapsed on his knees, clutching onto the carpet grass to both succumb to and endure the excruciating pain.

The blinding ball of light that had saved him from a while ago reappeared and descended on him, pulsating like healing waves all through his whole being.

The beads of sweat on his forehead and temples now vanishing into thin air, Athen felt relieved a little by little...Following, he heard a crisp clear voice speaking to his inner heart...

"God? Are you here? Did you save me?...Where's Belle? Why isn't she here with me?" He held his head tight and asked the voice longingly.

As he looked down on the ground before him, a drastically shrinked heart-shaped sphere of rose petals from minutes ago appeared and fell into his open cupping palms.

That crisp clear voice spoke again, "I used Belle to save you..."

Athen glanced around but there was no one and only the words spoken by the powerful yet gentle voice echoing sharply in his ears as well as deep inside his heart.

He continued to cradle the weightless sphere of petals and still knelt with his knees on the grassy ground. "God? Did I use to be trapped in a prison?" The question just came out of his mind instinctively.

"You were indeed, both in a prison and an ageless curse..."

Athen's heart fell, "But you sent me Belle..."

The voice turned even more crisp this time as the authoritative owner replied, "I made a way for 'Love' to rescue you...As I am the Creator of Time, I entrap it in your dreams so you can sleep through the consciousness trails of an undestined iniquity."

Athen glanced up to the unshielded bluish green forest canopy above him, where the sight of a sun's rays-filled ocean of sky graced him with a wonder of calm and peacefulness inside his heart. "Thank you...But I can't go on from here without Belle, Lord...She's become my need..."

"I will help you, Athen...But Belle has yet to make her decision, one that she is not even fully conscious of. She merely consented, but those were not her last words before I gave this beautiful girl to you..."

Athen gazed down at the blue-red petals resting on his palms, but their glimmering colours were now slowly but surely fading...His mind was quickened and realisation dawned on him. He cried out in desperation, "So is that the reason why she is still recalling the past and had no clue of our present lives?"

The petals in his hands began to morph into thin transparent bubbles and everything else all around turned muzzy and so were Athen's senses and mind...The whole enchanted world was thrust out of perception into utter nothingness...


	31. Chapter 31

When Athen finally awoke from his extraordinary dream and sleep, the first thing his tired open eyes wanted to make sure was that his only love in life was still safely and securely lying on his side. He whispered a heart-throbbing prayer of thanks and relief as soon as her presence filled his senses, even though he still has to hold fast to the girl to make sure reality was not playing hide-and-seek with him. Smoothing her velvet fringes, he kissed her doll-like hair deeply and yearningly. Interlocking his fingers snugly with hers, he could not bear to imagine her waking and leaving him any time...

He knew that it was a real dream and one that explained the mystery of their destiny crossing paths together...He was grateful to God for the closure but at the same time, it was not a complete closure...He selfishly worried that he might let Belle slipped away from his grasp and a life so desperate for her...

Shifting a little in order to get all the more closer to her body, he felt a slight poke from the edge of some item placed by his side. Glancing over, he caught sight of an open hardcover book right by where he laid. He reached over with his free hand to grab it loosely and flipped through what seemed surprisingly all clean white blank pages...Somehow, he was very uncertain of whether he had dozed off after reading such a strange book as his memory of what preceded the God-given dream was extremely fuzzy at this moment.

He quickly turned over to have a look at the book cover and discovered it was actually titled 'The Time Machine' by H. G. Wells.

"Where have all the words gone? I thought I borrowed this from a library..." He muttered confusedly to himself but quiet enough to not wake up Belle.

He began to wonder about the message that God was trying to get across to him from the dream. A gut feeling stirred the urge in him to turn to the inside of the back cover. He did so obediently and looked over until he found on the lower corner a stamped 'New Item from Monsieur's Bookshop'.

It got Athen scratching his head and recapping that he had read a bit of this book when he first brought it back home but yet never remembering seeing such a stamp ever on any part of the book...

About this moment, he felt Belle inching physically closer to his chest. He set down the book on the powdery sand and focused his full attention back on her. She still has her lovely eyes peacefully closed under his but her breathing now turned stronger as he could sense the increased heat of her air rubbing fervently against his thin shirt...He caressed her bangs and ran his finger down her temple. Slowly and surely, he lowered his chin to brush his lips warmly against hers. They felt cold and icy against his irresistible passion...but he was determined to not lose her...


	32. Chapter 32

She could not recount how many times she has been awakened by his kisses and today was no different. Belle gasped as she opened her eyes and Athen's lips were sweeping so agitatingly all over hers. With one of his strong arms wrapped around her back as she laid relaxed on it and another of his hand cupping fervently her chin, she was his most prized possession. Yet, Belle was hesitant as an uncertain love of his life and thought of drawing back a little to give themselves some air of space...As if already sensing her inner insecurity, Athen did not allow such a retreating move but merely pushed her waist strongly against his own torso and increased his level of passion on her, locking tightly both the skin of their lips until Belle even felt rising numbness in her mouth and her emotional defences all crumbling down like weakened walls.

Little by little, she drew her arms to reach up to his chin and held it tight...Has she ever made the initial move to kiss him on her own? Perhaps, there was...once...but the memory of it was secondary in meaning to this renewed instant...Her hand trailed from the front of his face to the side and back of his neck...He tasted the scent of her cheeks and temples...Her fingers brushed through his golden blonde strands...She pressed her lips against the edges of his...

In a moment, although the skies above them still graced the destined lovers with bright sunshine, a gentle drizzle began showering on the beach where they laid...The warm dews of heaven were falling tenderly on them, and especially for them only, seeping through their clothes and into their skin...They continued to be drowned and overtaken in the consuming fire of their love...Sweat and raindrops, when mingled on each other's skin just intensified their yearning for each other, sewing the bonds of their hearts together...

* * *

A/N: A short chapter again due to writer's block...


	33. Chapter 33

Having spent one of their most passionate moments in the rain and on a beach where their privacy was not compromised during such a day(which was quite unusual but blessed), Athen and Belle were now back in the comfort of their room busy drying themselves. Dressed in warm bathrobes and seated together on their soft bed, he was helping fanned her curled bangs dry while she wiped his soaked hair with her towel. Eyes set fully on each other, they were giggling every now and then while sharing another cute intimate moment together.

Wearing a captivating smile on his face, Athen was about to lean upclose and kiss her deeply again when Belle jerked backwards shaking her head and placing a finger lightly on his lips. He moaned sickly in desperation and grabbed her hand to lunge forward but Belle dodged his impulsive advance.

He chuckled as she narrowly missed falling onto the bed with him over her. Despite the loss of chance, Athen still has his palm inadvertently pressed onto a side edge of her bathrobe and Belle has to reluctantly close their facial distance a little to slide it out of his grasp. Eventually, his lips touched her upper cheek due to her unwilling move and the loving contact made her instinctively back away in a clumsy manner. The outcome was she really did end up lying down on the bed again. Athen, with his hand still holding onto her robe, was awkwardly pulled forward ironically as a result. He nearly fell over her, but Belle managed to slip her arms in between her chest and his torso so she could still breathe apart from his face.

"Oh sorry," she whispered faintly as the rate of their warm breathing escalated.

Athen shifted to the side embarrassingly in respect for her not-so-positive consent. Belle then bashfully sat up again just as he did.

Wondering indecisively if they should continue lending a hand to each other, they sat quietly with a single shared towel in one of each other's hands, averting gazes with reddening cheeks.

"Ermm...What time is it?" Belle mustered the courage to break the silence after a brief minute.

Athen glanced absent-mindedly at the five-pointed-star-shaped wall clock across the room and answered with a mild stutter, "2 am." It should have been two in the afternoon.

Belle was strangely confused and turned to face him with a question-mark look. To reciprocate her puzzled gaze, Athen inched closer in a thoroughly failed attempt to contain his irrepressible desire of her. Pulling her tight towards himself without a second thought, he dived his mouth straight into hers, letting loose all intensity and fervency of his unstoppable want of her, and only for her...


	34. Chapter 34

Fully intent on studying for and passing the Medical College Admissions Test, Belle has been pulling all-nighters cramming as much knowledge as she could for the day which was prevously cancelled by Athen. The living room and coffee table have turned into her most spacious study and desk now covered with open biology, chemistry, physics and psychology textbooks, study guides, sample exam packages where Belle could hardly bear to part with for more than an hour each day and night. Today as the fifth day in a row and less than a week's time before the day of exam, was no less different. The couch has literally turned into her most comfortable single bed for quite some days now...

"Ribosomes...Microtubules...Cytoskeleton...mRNA...Oxidative Phosphorylation...Endocytosis...I should have written these in alphabetical order..." Belle mumbled as she scratched her scalp with the top edge of her pencil and scanning through the pages of her notes seated by the coffee table.

As for the men, they bottled up their day-to-day concern for her after much failure of talking the ambitious girl out of such unchangeable determination. At this moment, Athen and Maurice were leaning by the kitchen counter watching the girl from the rear of the living room. She has been treating the two almost like transparent objects whenever she was immersed in her studying other than those brief twenty-minute meal breaks.

"I have never seen my girl so set on an unattainable goal like this one...Were you the reason that started all this on her?" Maurice had wanted to ask Athen since the day Belle made such a life-changing decision.

Athen shrugged and sighed in exasperation, shaking his head as he answered wearily, "I don't know...I can't bear to see her so overworked but each second I tried to talk her out of this, she gave me the cold shoulder that I've never been given before..."

Maurice patted his back to console, "Well, I remember the first time you told me you confessed to her, she rejected saying that she's not a doctor like you...So obviously, she's doing all this for ya...? And, it's not all that bad you know, she's always beaming with confidence whenever talking to me about how she is successfully memorising those huge chunk of books!"

Athen turned to Maurice with an utter look of resignation, "I don't know...didn't mean to put a slightest pressure on her...I booked a Paris Disney honeymoon vacation package and now, there's no way for us to enjoy it..."

They were rather absorbed to the point of being unaware of the burning breakfast cake inside the oven, the smell of which was now already heavily filling the whole kitchen and living room. Belle's sharp sense zapped her out of her concentration and she immediately got up and raced towards them and the oven, opening it at once...

"Just what were you two doing?!" She skillfully slipped the gloves to fit her hands into them and slid out the pan of lemon butter cake much like a professional chef would do. Afterwards, she simply turned off the oven without any uncertainty or wariness, a contrast from her earlier overwhelming fear of everything in the kitchen.

Athen and Maurice was thoroughly surprised and merely looked on frozen and awkward in seemingly total unbelief...Was this another sign of a miracle that affected Belle's memories of the present?


	35. Chapter 35

In less than ten minutes after Belle has stepped out of the exam roomwhen the test concluded, the beaming eyes of her loving guy met hers from the end of the hallway. Although it was not a surprise, it was still sentimentally pleasant since Belle was not expecting in the least to see him so soon. He has been earnestly waiting for her over the past seven hours or so. She tugged onto the straps of her bag and quickened her pace to reach him with a half-bashful smile.

He was holding a mini tray of a pair of macchiatos, the aroma of which lit up Belle's endearing face in a flash. As soon as she was by his side, Belle happily grabbed his other free hand and pulled Athen out of the waiting area to exit the building.

For Athen, he could sense his girl to be especially gleeful today, more optimistic and different in a sweet beautiful way. He could not take his smile off his face with Belle making the first move to hold his hand and leading them down the entrance steps to head towards the open promenade bordering a small leisure harbour in front of the exam building.

The view before them was rich and relaxing, yet accompanied by minimal street noise and crowd. There were a few couples who were jogging down the path of the long stretch of promenade. Athen and Belle sat down on one of the few vintage steel benches placed at an optimal spot overlooking the many yachts, sailboats of various shapes and sizes by the harbour as well as a breathtakingly romantic early sunset.

Smoothing the pale yellow flare skirt of her dress, Belle turned to Athen, who handed her the cup of freshly-brewed coffee before he set down the tray.

"Thanks, I've not had macchiato in a while," she expressed with a bright smile.

With also a persistent smile on, Athen joked as he took up the drink, "Cheersss...?"

Belle has to laugh as she played along, "Cheers...Thanks for waiting so long for me..."

He lowered his gaze and shrugged, "No problem..."

They sat back tacitly and enjoyed the touching scenery before them...Belle sipped on quietly her drink and was gradually filled with awe at the magnificent stretch of warm-coloured skies laid out so generously for their eyes to feast on.

Just when he thought Belle was not looking, Athen was reminded of their matching outfits again as he stared down at his this time. He was wearing a navy blue coat while Belle's was a light but gentle shade of yellow. He could easily relate now that she was like the glowing sun which lighted up his once void and darkness of a sky with cool peaceful hues.

He turned to her and Belle was still intently concentrated on studying the picturesque wonders before them, each sip turning lighter than the one before...

Athen inched closer to diminish their gap and slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You must be tired," he uttered softly, reaching his hand to stroke her hair and rest her head on his shoulder.

Belle looked down at their laps of blue and yellow, then held his hand after he set down his coffee. "I had a dream last night," she whispered.

He swept his lips over her brows and kissed her forehead. Belle continued, "In it, I saw you writing my name with your finger on that mysterious locked book kept inside the drawer..."

He interlocked their fingers snugly, "Did I help?"

She lifted up her gaze at him and nodded excitedly, "There was a light and the book opened and disappeared..."

"Oh," Athen was still a little lost though fully believing without any logical reason. "Did it help solve the riddle?"

Belle sat back up and smiled cupping his face, taking out a little thing dangling from her necklace to show him. "It's mystery but it's also telling a story...This came from inside that hard piece of book!" She held up her lost wedding ring for him to behold.

It almost took Athen's breath away, upon seeing the pink heart diamond ring he had bought when proposing to her. He felt an intense warmth in his chest and then his heart skipped and stopped before catching his breath again as he cautiously held her ring and charmingly slid it into her tender finger.

He asked and kissed her fingers, "Belle, am I yours forever?"

She brought his hand towards her chest, held it warmly and lowered her gaze to nod in bliss. Athen was overjoyed and immediately got up, lifting Belle off her feet and spun his beautiful love around before the dizziness spell took over.

Giggling together and setting her down again, she took his hands with cheeks blushing rose-pink and revealed, "Can we visit the hospital for a check-up tomorrow? I...am having low appetite since the past few days..."

It took an unusually slow-witted Athen during this particular day to not quite realise her subtle hint..."Are you feeling nauseous as well, Belle?" He was still dense and unsure why he would ask her so.


	36. Chapter 36

"Hmmm...It's...po-si-tive...?" Belle checked closely as she came out of their ensuite bathroom.

"Really?" Athen was beaming wide from ear to ear with elation and expectant eyes. He immediately raced towards her, holding her up and spinning his surprised girl round and round.

Belle giggled as she tried hard not to feel dizzy in his strong arms. When he finally set her down after a full minute, she pressed both her palms playfully against his reddened cheeks.

Athen wishfully thought that she was going to reward him pleasurably but Belle naughtily squeezed her hands harder on him, then cleared her throat and looked intently into his dreamy eyes. "Now, a doctor should know all too well that this thing can't guarantee a 100.00% accuracy...I told you that we need to wait for the hospital results," she cooly reminded him.

It seemed that nothing could ever take down that extremely positive smile he was wearing on his charming face. Athen did not return a word and simply lifted Belle fully off her feet like Prince Charming did for Snow White and carried her over onto their bed right away.

"Athen!" Belle cried and pouted that he was not in the least rationally paying attention to her.

He chuckled as he kissed her hands in bliss, looking contentedly into her soft brown eyes. "It's okay, hon...I don't care what it may truly be tomorrow when the hospital will tell us...I just want to enjoy what God is previewing us right at this moment...I love this early Christmas gift for us..."

Belle reached down to cup his chin and feel his face with her tender fingers and palm. Her lips curved into a loving smile at last and Athen got up to sit by her on the bed, pulling her close to rest on him. She held his hands near, "I don't know, Athen...It's like an overnight dream...This came so fast, are we fully prepared? I think we should not tell Papa at all first yet just in case..."

Stroking her hair, Athen shook his head, "I think it's a perfect time, even though it's only our second month of marriage...We can definitely give our coming little angel the very best of our worlds..."


	37. Chapter 37

"Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump, look at Frosty go...Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump, over the hills of snow! Hey!"

It was the end of the third week before Christmas and Maurice was indulging in a frenzy round-the-clock preparations and experimentations of his Santa Chef's long list of Christmas recipes meant freely for the community's disadvantaged and disabled residents. He was pretty much semi-retired now at a fine young age of 63 but still serving part-time and weekends as a senior consultant for over a dozen catering businesses both in town and over the internet. He was also a near celebrity status cookbook author and still found enough time to self-record recipe teaching videos and with his greatest fan and beloved daughter, Belle's help, have more than a hundred of them uploaded online, earning him record amount of revenues and past the millionth-view mark. Such a well-accomplished career man and successful father, Belle was also his most-loved, second to his cherished wife, in this world.

"Tink!" The oven timer chimed and after singing the song, Maurice hurried over to check on his latest creation, a traditional pumpkin pie with a sweet-soury lemony twist, which brought back memories of the good sweet times he used to have with his first and only lady in life. Coincidentally, the graceful Beatrice, Belle's mother, was also a keen booklover and aspiring author. Maurice was not fortunate to have a high-school education, but Beatrice fell in love with his lemon custard tarts when they first met by the village top bakery shop while he was still an apprentice starting his first day of job. When the cranky baker boss had wanted to discard every single one of his very first batch of creation, Beatrice stopped by on her way back from the school library, expressing her admiration for his talent and a soft heart for his bright yellow tarts, no matter how insignificant they were, then lifting up his crushed ambitions with hope. When they got to know each other a little better, they would share Maurice's baked lemon tarts and cakes together and she would read touching novels to him under the chestnut tree behind the bakery's garden. She would never cease to be his source of inspirations each new day and it has ever been for the past forty years...The image of her sweetness and tenderness lived on inside his mind and heart...

The front door opened and in came Belle and Athen as they returned from the 'hospital'...

"Papa! Such wonderful aroma, is it lemon again this time ?" Belle walked quickly into the kitchen at once, with Athen trailing behind her.

Maurice gave a beaming wink, a hot thumbsup and slid out the pie from the oven onto the counter behind the living room. "You're absolutely right, dear! Perhaps you two could sample this fresh baby of mine and give me honest ratings!"

"Mmmm...Like the brightest round summer sun...I thought I tasted this before when Mama did it for my fifth birthday!" Belle remarked with a heartfelt smile.

Athen was about to say something nice to compliment Maurice when Belle's newly-recovered memory interrupted his train of thought and caused him to exchange curious gazes with Maurice. Then, Maurice pulled out his kitchen gloves to inquire of his daughter, "Really, Belle...That one had the exact same look with this one but it was orange and lemon pie, without the pumpkin...What else can you remember for certain of that day?"

Belle lightly shrugged, "That was my last birthday with her around...when Papa bought our family's first car and we spent that happiest day outdoor...You managed to borrow a rusty old camera and took our first family portrait with it. Good thing we still had Mama..."

Maurice and Athen turned to each other again, now with tell-tale expressions lit up and surprised broadest smiles. Next, the unaware Belle sighed and added with wistfulness, "At least this is much better than the old fuzzy dream of Mama leaving us when I was only three...That's completely devastating..."

With the men knowing well of what this meant, Athen pulled Belle close to himself and kissed her temple to console, "It's okay, hon...She hasn't leave you at all..."

She sniffed and nodded under his chin...A brief silence of memories and Maurice went to fetch the knife and started cutting the cake for them two.

Belle spoke up solemnly again, "Errr...Papa...We actually went to the hospital this morning..."

Maurice was slow to catch up with her cue, but then dropped the knife after ten seconds with overly widened eyes. "Wh-What...?! Wh-Wh-ere...?! A hospital?!"

Athen hastened to assure him, "No...don't worry...Maurice...It's...just...for...a...pregnancy test..."

Maurice instantly dropped the plates of pie slices each from his hands, "A...Preg-nan-cy test?!"

Athen and Belle's faces blushed deep red immediately.

Maurice then dashed from across the counter to reach Belle's side, "W-Why,...I must be dreaming! And dreaming wild! My dear Belle...Why didn't you tell Papa...in the first place...I mean, last night...yesterday...or last week?!"

Belle stammered, "Oh sorry, Papa...But it came too sudden...And we're not sure...So we went today...and...the result...was..."

Maurice held Belle's hands tight in desperation, "Was...?"

Belle took a long deep breath, "Was...negative...Sorry, Papa..."

Maurice struggled hard to bottle up his disappointment, attempted his best to not let it show, and hugged Belle comfortingly, patting her shoulders. "It's okay, Belle...It's alright...Only a test...you both still have more than enough time..."


	38. Chapter 38

Bringing a warm mug of chocolate milk for Belle into their garden where she was seated at the swing, Athen was extra thoughtful to fetch together with it another thick knitted scarf for her on this especially chilly winter night. She was delighted by his concern and sweetness.

"Thank you...I would do badly without them!" She beamed as he tucked the comfy scarf snugly around her neck.

"My pleasure," he smiled in hearing those tender words from her.

Just when Belle was about to take a sip, she turned to him as he sat down on the only other swing right next to her. "Where's yours? Don't you feel cold at all right now?"

He tilted his head to the side and shrugged carefreely, "Nah...I'm good..."

Belle immediately got up and placed her drink into his hands, "I better get inside and make one for ya!"

Athen was quick to stop her, "No really, it's okay...I...er...had one before dinner...?" The truth was he lied.

Belle was uncertain to believe him, being the intuitive girl that she was, "You sure?"

He tried hard to feign, though deep inside he was cringing. He nodded desperately to convince her, "Absolutely! I'm too full to have another one, Belle...That won't do me any good, true!"

She was hesitant and did not seem to buy his words at all. It was only when she insisted them to share that one single cup of milk that he was able to get her to sit back down again.

The night sky above them was twinkling bright with starry gems, inducing a touching romantic mood between them.

"Athen," Belle spoke up as they beheld the lovely wonders up above.

"What's that?"

"Do you think you'd change your mind to study astronomy just by seeing how beautiful these stars are?"

He pondered a brief while before answering and turning to her, "If you had asked me this question then and you wanted me to...and we'll meet each other earlier by taking the same classes...I would..."

She giggled softly and handed him the drink, "Come on, why me?!"

He held her hands tight over the cup before she was about to let go of it, looking into her eyes. Athen then shook his head, "I don't know, Belle...but it has to be you...God gave you to me...everything I want and need is in you...I just gotta love you..."

She lowered her gaze to not lock with his, and he lifted her hand to kiss it deeply...


	39. Chapter 39

With eyes moistening, Belle reached her hand to cup his face, holding back tears and whispered, "I'm sorry...We couldn't have a child just yet...It must have hurt you..."

Taking her hand, he shook his head, "I'm glad to have more time just for the two of us...It's nothing of your fault, Belle...Believe me that I'm happy..."

His words made her warm tears fell in a rush of release...Athen drew near to wipe them dry, despite more flowed and streamed down her cheeks. Belle got up and kissed his lips yearningly before swiftly turning away in order to run back into the house. Yet, he caught her wrist in time to not let her go, pressing her waist determinedly towards his body and kissed her tears and lips passionately.

Belle could not break free from his tight embrace, no matter how she struggled mentally and then physically. Her hands squeezed hard the creases of his shirt, though how hard she tried to push his chest away, he was just too strong this time for her. He kept locking his lips desperately with hers, drowning all her resistance. It was tough to catch her own breaths, but his scent kept her senses going...She wished in the midst of this moment of intimacy, he could let her utter in between sobs just how much she loved him...

He did not know why she was so much his treasure in life...It was every little bit of her that connected with the innermost of his soul so certainly...She was his grace, so tender and soft, he wanted to hold her for the rest of his life...These kisses and affection, just did not seem to be in the least enough to express no matter how much he gave her each time...They were just barely a fraction compared with the depths of his love he possessed for her...The times they had, the words they spoke with each other, he wished they could have endless of thousands of years in eternity...Feeling the loveliness of her face, the dew of her eyes, the honey of her lips...he has heaven's gift that was forever irreplaceable...A second of her touch meant a million years of happiness that filled his heart to overflow...

* * *

A/N: Sorry for a short one!


	40. Chapter 40

"Yes, I promise that I'll be back home by early afternoon the latest," Athen assured Maurice over the phone while he headed down the sidewalk lining a long street of city stores.

"Okay," Maurice whispered before turning his head to peep at Belle at the end of the hallway across from the kitchen. "I see she's busy with the laundry and she's handling them well without the least curious of why you were out so early...I said that you had to meet your Aunt Gerry for some 'business'..."

Athen chuckled softly, "Thanks, 'dad'...I can't bear to leave her the moment she's awake...But getting the perfect Christmas present for her...ah...needs tremendous creativity...I've been to more than a dozen stores since seven and it's still unproductive..."

Maurice tried his best not to laugh, "Oh no, I'm sure these three hours of 'unproductivity' is already Belle's best Christmas present this year...Always listen to your heart, dear boy...You know my strange girl, she doesn't fancy cosmetics, accessories, sweet foods,..."

"Listen to my heart...?" Athen stopped in his track, the chilly morning weather made him tuck his blue grey woolen scarf deeper inside his winter coat(it was Belle's first Christmas gift for him two years ago). He then absent-mindedly placed his hand over his chest as Maurice's lengthy suggestions persisted over the phone, and an unsuspecting sideglance caused him to catch sight of a cute little corner gift store right before the block ended at a crosswalk.

He made his approach towards the colourful ornament-decorated small store. "Okay, Maurice...I think I found a possible target this time...Just please help me take care of Belle, alright...I might be home sooner!"

"Lovely! Belle's coming over now, I oughta hang up! I pray that you'll get the right one! Adiós!"

Athen smiled at his jolliness...Stepping inside, the door chime began with a cheerful song of 'Sleigh Ride' and it lasted for more than two minutes. The store was small but warming, with mostly red, green and white Christmas decorations reaching over one's head, even tall candy canes and Santa's face balloons hovering up to the low ceiling. Though no one was at the outside entrance when Athen entered, that was extremely deceiving for the inside was jam-packed with people and families of all ages. It felt like a maze because the numerous gifts on sale were just too much to choose from.

However, ornaments and decorations made up a bulk of the items so Athen started scratching his head wondering where that unique gift he could pick for Belle be found...

"The sad thing is that...we lost our mother's most beloved brooch which she wore only once on her wedding day...That's really unfortunate and happened when Papa and I moved from the country into this city..."

Perhaps, it was God reminding and helping him when those words spoken by Belle about a year ago echoed once more in his mind at this very second...Immediately, Athen bumped into a store helper and enquired whether by any chance they did sell girls' brooches...

The staff stepped to the side to reveal a part of the shelf right behind him by that same aisle, with just only about three distinctly shaped traditional brooches left. Athen expressed his heartfelt thanks to him, as well as to the kind Heavenly Father above...

Athen's attention instantly zeroed in on the middle heart-shaped brooch. Its pink rhinestone heart was lined with small adorable pearls and a plaid rose red and light blue lacy cloth of pretty bowknot. The other two brooches were oval and star shaped. Then, upon casting a second look, he noticed that the star-shaped one on the side has a bit of a sparkle in it...When a middle-aged lady was walking up and closer to where he stood, Athen could not bear to expend a second thought and quickly picked up both brooches to head towards the cashier.

It was an extremely long line and as Athen waited, he was engaged in deep thought over the low cost of those two brooches...Sure, Belle would not mind, being the soft-hearted girl that she was, but he hated to give such seemingly plain gifts even though they would mean his love and thoughtfulness for her...Come to think of it, was his love really this 'cheap' and 'shallow'...? Such thoughts kept churning round and round in his head even until his turn came a half hour later...

"Sir, do you want to pay or not?" The cashier questioned him impatiently.

A little indecision, dilemma and confusion...Then right behind him, a little girl happened to open up a Christmas musical box in her hands, which her parents were about to pay...

It struck Athen again..."What if I add a little bit of musical function into the brooch?" The idea was literally screaming out inside his head...


	41. Chapter 41

"Papa, be sure to keep an eye on Athen's return for me...Please tell me right away if you see him at the door!" Belle took out her whole sewing kit and sat down at the living room preparing to start her 'work'...

Maurice paced over to her from the kitchen where he had just finished baking another shepherd's pie and questioned his daughter confusedly, "Belle, what are you up to this time?"

She smiled contentedly as she began working with her long knitting needles, "Just a perfect time for me to create another surprise for Athen...A pair of knitted earmuffs for him since he hasn't had one before, then mittens and scarf...a three-in-one warm Christmas gift set for him...What do you think, Papa? And...not to worry, I have done one huge special gift for you a week ago so you are definitely not excluded!"

Maurice never expected this and laughed heartily, "Ho, ho, ho...My lovely girl sure has a soft tenderloving heart for the men in her life! Thank you so very much, dear...It's wonderful...I'm sure Athen would be so touched when he knows this..." To think that he has to keep secrets on both sides really amazed him.

"I hope that I can get all these done in three hours...Gosh, I should have started this much earlier..." Belle attempted her best to skillfully handle the needles and yarn and yet to do so in a much quicker manner.

Maurice assured her with concern, "Not to worry, Belle, you gotta watch your fingers...Athen will surely take a while and I promise that he won't be back too soon, okay dear?"

Belle sighed, "Oh Papa...I'm sorry I couldn't help you much with your cooking for the rest of the day...But tomorrow, I will..."

Maurice was touched by her thoughtfulness, "That's the least thing Papa would mind, girl...Now, I can still why Athen's once coldest heart would be melted by your love...My daughter has her warmest care for everyone...To think back how when we first met him in the hospital, all his patients were calling him the 'Beast Surgeon'...We've come a long way already and my daughter ended up transforming his heart..."

Belle looked up at her beloved father, "Oh Papa...You've said this too many times...I'm not at all that good...You may think how he has a face of a stone before, but he actually has a heart of a child, really..."

Maurice chuckled again, "Well, my Belle...That's the power of love, I presume..."

They both laughed happily together.


	42. Chapter 42

"Oh, this is much more beautiful than I have ever seen, thank you so much, Athen...It reminds me of mother's..." Belle was extremely touched as she expressed upon opening the gift which Athen meant for her on this night of Christmas Eve.

"I'm so happy that you like it," he returned seeing her beholding the 'musical' brooch with delight. When Belle happened to see a tiny heart-shaped button at the back of the accessory, he noticed the curiosity in her eyes as she looked questioningly at him. He smiled and she took his hint cleverly by placing her finger on it. A lovely piano music, her favourite instrument, began to play, bringing a sweet smile to her face.

"What is this?" She inquired happily.

"It's a new tune - Your Love for Me this Christmas..." He said with a soft smile and gaze on her warm eyes...

She giggled with fondness and placed the brooch in his hands, "Can you help me wear this?"

Athen did so, mesmerised with wonder at how angelically beautiful she looked on this very special night. He drew close and kissed her lips, whispering his love for her again.

She held his hands and smiled, "Let me help you with the earmuffs and see if they fit right and comfortably on you!"

"Thank you so much...They are my very first," he said as Belle put them on snugly over his head and ears. Her tender knits felt like velvet that tickled his face with a sense of her gentleness and warmth. He would have them on forever.

"Hey, Belle...Athen...These roses you gave seemed to be growing shoots at long last! What a miracle!" Maurice, who has been spraying water onto the plant over by the coffee table in the living room, called out loud to them.

The two headed right away from the hallway, where their Christmas tree was placed, back to Maurice's side and true enough, there appeared to be fresh new life emerging from those many adorable stems of flowers in the vase.

"I can't believe this...and to think it's already winter," Belle was awed by the pretty sight.

"Yea, I'm now feeling even much warmer than ever, seeing this and having on my newest Christmas sweater and scarf which my all lovely daughter has made for me...Thank you so much, Belle dear," Maurice was so grateful for such love this season.

Athen put a loving arm around him as well, to which Maurice further added, "And! Also that terrific laptop which you bought for me, Athen...I couldn't thank you enough...It will sure help fire up my rusty brain engine again!"

He smiled at the cheerful old man and nodded, "Thanks for your tailor-made tuxedo suit. I can't wait to wear for another dinner event with Belle..."

Maurice laughed heartily, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!"

Just then, they received a phone call from Aunt Gerry saying that she will be arriving with Athen's parents in another half an hour's time before midnight that night...

When they smilingly hung up the phone, Belle turned a bit fidgety and hesitant while she made a special statement, "Ermm...guys...I think...I mean that...I hope this is not another false alarm yet again...but we have to make another round to the hospital this time for some new test results...It's a heavier nausea I've been feeling lately..."

Maurice and Athen were now a trillion times much more elated than when they have been previously waiting for those negative results, stammering excitedly as they held onto her with utter care..."You did, Belle? Oh, it must be for real this time! Thank you, Jesus!"

-THE END-

Thank you so much for reading! Happy Holidays and Wish You a Brand New Joyful Year 2016!


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